More Loss and Love
by BabyGurl2012
Summary: Life continues for the Grey family as they grow while dealing with good and bad.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The Greys are back! This story picks up about seven months after the last chapter of Loss and Love. Ana's almost at her due date while Layken's now fifteen months old and Landon's seven. Enjoy!**

"Hi Daddy." Landon closed his notebook and stood from his spot on the sofa so he could hug Christian who had just arrived home following a strenuous day at GEH.

"Hey buddy.", Christian placed his briefcase and jacket down in the arm-chair and hugged his son. "And there's my baby girl." Toddling towards him was Layken who had started walking at twelve months with no signs of slowing down. "You're showing off those walking skills, huh?"

"Dada.", Layken replied, holding her arms out for Christian to pick her up.

"Ok. I'll hold you. Come here." Christian picked up his daughter and then smiled at Gail who was sitting on the love seat. "Hi Gail."

"Good evening. Ana's upstairs resting for a bit. She was down here with the kids earlier and started yawning uncontrollably. I suggested that she take a nap before dinner while I watched the kids."

"Why don't you stay here with Miss Gail while I go upstairs to check on Mommy?" Layken grinned as he placed her next to Gail. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"If Mom's awake, tell her that I hope she gets rested.", Landon told his dad.

"I will buddy.", Christian said as he started up the stairs.

Just three weeks from her due date, Ana's energy level was virtually non-existant. She had taken her maternity leave from work a month earlier than originally planned, a decision that pleased Christian. He wanted her to be as relaxed as possible in preparation for the new baby whose gender they decided not to learn this time around.

Christian eased open the bedroom door and padded quietly into the room. Ana was laying on her side, with her back turned to him, but her stillness made him believe that she was asleep. He eased next to her on the bed and kiss the top of her head.

"Hey.", she mumbled groggily.

"Hi. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't. I've been awake for a while although I've been trying to go back to sleep." She shifted on to her back and puckered his lips as Christian grinned and placed his lips on hers. "We missed you today." Her right hand traveled to her large bump.

"I missed you guys too. I had a meeting with Grant Erickson this afternoon. We might be working jointly on a solar panel project. Anyways, we started talking about our families. His son and daughter-in-law are expecting their fifth child."

"Please don't tell me that you're already thinking of more.", Ana giggled.

"No. Their baby's a girl which they've decorated and bought clothes for. I got to thinking maybe we should rethink our decision to not find out. We can prepare ourselves better if we know."

"I see your point, but I also like the idea of not finding this time. Besides, we've done a good job in buying clothes and accessories that can be for a boy or girl. We'll also know very soon." Christian leaned down and placed a kiss on her stomach. "Will you help me up so we can go and see the two best kids in the world?"

* * *

"Mom, are you feeling better?", Landon asked Ana once she and Christian made it to the living room. She sat down next to him on the sofa and pulled him into her arms.

"I'm feeling much better. Thank you for helping Miss Gail watch Layken while I rested. I know your sister can be a handful now that she's walking." Layken came barreling towards Ana with her copper curls bouncing. "Hi there baby girl. Kate called today and wanted to know if we want to get together for dinner tomorrow night at their house. I told her that I'd ask you.", Ana said to Christian who had started looking over Landon's homework.

"It's ok with me. How about you? Do you think you'll feel up to it?"

"Just because I get tired easily and walk slower than a tortoise doesn't mean that I'm not capable of having dinner with our family."

"Ok. I need to talk to Elliot about the construction of the new garage for the security vehicles so why don't I tell him?", Christian suggested, standing up and kissing Ana's forehead before kissing Layken's cheek. He then moved to Landon who sighed and held his arms out for a hug. "Oh, Gail, what's for dinner?"

"Pot roast. I added extra carrots at someone's request." Without saying a name, she glanced at Landon who placed his notebook in front of his face.

"Ah, good. The carrots are what makes the roast even more tasty." Landon shifted the book slightly so Christian could see him nodding in agreement.

"And they're good for you eyes. The more you eat, the better you can see.", Landon said.

"Very true. I won't be long."

In his study, Christian picked up Layken's stuffed teddy bear which she had been playing with the evening before. With her mobility even greater, she was leaving toys scattered more and more. He sat down at the desk and smiled fondly at the memory of Landon giving Layken a lecture the evening before about picking up her toys.

"Elliot Grey, baby whisperer speaking.", Elliot laughed once he answered Christian's call.

"I'm sorry, but I must have dialed the wrong number."

"Ha ha very funny. Kate's been looking up recipes to prepare for the babies. Tonight she made butternut squash and potato purée, but Connor and Charlotte didn't want to try it so I saved the day by tasting it first. Bro, let me tell you that stuff was out of this world delicious. Once they saw how much I was enjoying it, they gave in and ate it. I'll get the recipe from Kate so you guys can try it. You'll thank me. I'm even going to take some for my lunch at work tomorrow."

"You're taking baby food for lunch? Never mind, I forgot that you'll eat anything. You're a human garbage disposal.", Christian chuckled.

"I would be offended by offended by your comment if it weren't true."

"Before I laugh more at you, I wanted to ask about the new garage. When do you think you'll be able to start?"

"I'm finishing up a house in a development but should be done in about a week. Are you still wanting it to be a four car?", Elliot asked.

"Four car. I'd like for it to have plenty of shelving as well."

"No problem. The thing is, given the timing, I'll probably be doing the construction after the new baby is born. The noise might be a distraction for the little guy." Christian rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He hadn't even considered the construction would be around the time the baby was born.

"First of all, the baby may be a girl despite your repeated statements that you're certain we're having a boy. Secondly, I may need to rethink things. As much as I'd like to have a new garage for the vehicles, the baby is going to need tranquility."

"I understand completely. How about we put things on hold for a while? We can always revisit it at a later time."

"Would you be ok with that?"

"Sure. I know all too well the importance of peace for the babies. Kate told me that she asked you guys over for dinner tomorrow night. Are you going to be able to make it?"

"Yeah. We'd like to.", Christian replied.

"Good. Mia and Ethan were invited as well, but Mia's got a catering gig downtown for some hotshot broker. She's doing a birthday dinner tonight and then has another lined up next weekend. Our little sister is making a name for herself." Despite having her catering business stop off slow, Mia had recently found herself the go-to caterer in the city. She realized that she needed help so she hired her friends Mandy and Julia.

"I'm proud of her. She was a little nervous at first, but she's becoming more and more confidant with each job. Mom's friend Regina was at one of the dinners Mia worked last week and had nothing but positive feedback. She said Mia was social to the guests and always on her toes."

"Social to the guests.", Elliot murmured. "It's good to know that she's putting her fondness for talking to good use." Christian laughed as he heard crying in the background. "Uh, I've got to go. Connor's crying and Charlotte looks like she's about to as well. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Ok. Give my niece and nephew a kiss from me."

"Will do. Laters."

Christian rolled his chair back and picked up Layken's bear on his way to rejoin the family. Layken's eyes sparkled the moment she saw the stuffed animal in her father's arms. She came barreling to him with a grin on her face.

"Layken, here's your teddy bear that you had in my study last night. You probably didn't even notice it missing until now.", Christian told her.

"She needs to start picking up her things.", Landon pointed out.

"No.", she said with a scowl trained on her brother.

"Yes."

"No no no. Lan." The mention of her name for Landon brought a smile to his face. His adoration for his fifteen month old sister was endless.

"I give up.", he laughed.

* * *

"I bought a blanket for the baby the other. I meant to bring it but forgot.", Kate told Ana as she pushed the twins' double stroller through the mall. Ana had been caught by surprise when Sawyer volunteered to push Layken's stroller for her.

"Kate, you've already bought several outfits for the baby. You didn't have to buy anything else."

"I know, but I wanted to. It's a mint green which is gender neutral since someone won't tell us what they're having." Ana turned her head away from Kate and rolled her eyes. "Don't think I don't know that you just rolled your eyes."

"It's not that I'm withholding whether it's a boy or girl from you. Christian and I genuinely don't know. He asked me last night if I wanted to reconsider, but I remain determined to hold out until our delivery day." Approaching a bench, Kate turned her stroller so the twins were face to face with her before taking a seat. Ana glanced down at Layken who was laughing at Sawyer's funny face show. "Sawyer, not that I have a problem with you pushing Layken's stroller, but why were you so adamant about it?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you.", he answered. Ana followed Kate's actions with Layken's stroller and then eased down on the bench next to her best friend.

"Sure you can."

"I don't think Mr. Grey would want me to."

"I should have known that Mr. Grey had a hand in it. You work for me just as much as you do for Mr. Grey so why don't you tell me. I assure you that you won't be punished."

"He didn't feel you should be pushing the stroller while so close to your due date. I already feel bad about telling you. Can we just forget what I said?" Ana pulled out her phone and dialed Christian's number, winking at Layken.

"How's shopping going at the mall?", Christian asked.

"I bought Landon some new socks and a pair of jeans. We're taking a break and then heading to find Layken and the twins some new clothes.", Ana answered.

"Spend as much money as you want. Out of curiosity, how has Sawyer been today?"

"Sawyer's been the perfect security today. Do you want to know something odd? He wanted to push Layken's stroller? I agreed though."

"You did?" Ana could hear what sounded like relief in Christian's voice. "Well, that was a nice gesture of him."

"I couldn't agree more. It just seemed like he got the idea from somewhere or someone else. Hmm."

"Ok, ok.", Christian muttered. "I did it. I told him to push the stroller due to the fact that I don't think you should be doing it."

"I appreciate your concern, but pushing the stroller isn't bad for me.", Ana sighed.

"You know how I worry. It's part of who I am. Baby, my dad just walked into the office with a serious look on his face. I'm going to see what's going on but will call you later."

"You better." After the call was over, Ana stared at her phone for several minutes as Kate looked on. "Carrick showed up at Christian's office. I'm not sure what's going on, but Christian said Carrick looked serious."

* * *

"Dad, hey. I was on the phone with Ana." Carrick staggered to the middle of the office. "Are you ok?"

"Andrea was on the way to get some more paper for the copy machine, but she told me that I could come in. I knocked, but I guess you didn't hear me.", Carrick stammered. "Welch is good at what he does, right?"

"The best. Why do you ask?"

"Christian, I just left the hospital where Mia was admitted a couple of hours ago." Christian leaped from his chair while trying to steady his breathing.

"No one called me. Why am I just now finding this out?"

"Because we knew how you would react so we decided to hold off for a bit."

"What in the hell happened? Did she have a car accident or something?"

"She was picking up some things from a restaurant supply store when someone grabbed her and pulled her into a side alley."

"In broad fucking daylight?!", Christian shouted.

"The store is in a part of town where there's not a lot of traffic. According to Mia, everything happened so fast."

"When you say everything, what do you mean? What did the bastard do?" Carrick dropped to the sofa and shook his head. "Was she...?

"She was beaten up pretty badly but wasn't sexually assaulted. By some miracle, one of the workers from the store decided to take a smoke break and was able to scare the guy away."

"Fuck.", Christian murmured. "Is she still at the hospital?"

"For now, but she'll be released soon. Your mother and Ethan are there with her. I had to get out of there. It was hard looking at my little girl as she looked so helpless. I got in my car and started driving until I got here. The police are going to look into it, but Christian, I want Welch to as well. Do you think he can do that?"

"He'll do it. Does Elliot know yet?"

"Not yet, but I know his reaction is going to mirror yours."

"Was her purse or anything else taken?", Christian asked.

"Nothing. She said he didn't even try to take her money or jewelry. All he seemed interested in was hurting her."

"The fucker messed with the wrong family."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Christian, I know your emotions are running high. They are for all of us, but you need to remain calm for Mia's sake. She's been through hell." Christian nodded and stared at the closed bedroom door. Behind that door was his sister whose presence had helped bring him out of darkness when he was younger. He wasn't prepared to see her in a weakened state, but he needed to. After her attack the day before, he wanted to see her but had decided to wait until the next day in hopes that at least part his anger over the attack would subside.

"I'll be calm." Grace slowly turned the doorknob and eased the door open. The moment Christian saw his sister, he tried not to gasp, but it was a fruitless effort. Propped up on a pillow, Mia was staring with a black eye at the wall in front of her. Her bottom lip was swollen while both cheeks were bruised.

"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to come in?", Mia asked in a weak voice.

"Hey sis." Christian pulled the chair from the right corner of the room over next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've had the crap beaten out of me. Other than that, like I've had the crap beaten out of me." Mia laughed at her words but grimaced as pain hit her. "Ouch."

"Careful. I was going to drop by yesterday but figured you needed the rest."

"And you needed to cool off.", she smirked. "I know you were riled up over what happened. No one told me, but I know you and how you get. If it makes you feel any better, Elliot made up for your absence in the angry brother category." Christian looked at Grace who was standing in front of the bed.

"Your brother may have smashed his hand into the wall.", Grace sighed. "It was only a small hole which he's going to repair, but he let his anger get the best of him."

"What about Ethan? Where is he and how is he reacting?", Christian asked.

"He and Dad went to pick up some groceries since our cabinets were raided by overbearing family.", Mia laughed. "As for how he's reacting, he's been supportive and caring. Every time I groan, he rushes to my side."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"It's fine. Talking about what happened is good. I needed some measuring cups and pans for the dinner I was catering. The restaurant supply place was not far from the café I had lunch at so I decided to stop there. I went in and got what I needed in a matter in a minutes which is all it took for him to grab me as I was on my way to the car." Her mood darkened as she recounted what took place. "He shoved me against the brick wall of the store and just started hitting me. I tried to fight him off. God, I tried. The more I fought back, the more and harder the punches."

"Mom said that he said some things to you."

"That I was a little bitch who deserved to be have the hell beaten out of her. His voice was deep and raspy. The thing that stuck out was his cologne. It was strong. Do you remember that time Elliot was in high school and had a date with a cheerleader who he had been chasing?"

"Yeah.", Christian answered. "He was in the bathroom for a long time. I think he used an entire bottle of cologne."

"The entire house smelled like that for hours. Anyway, Elliot's cologne was nothing compared to that guy's. A car pulled up into the parking lot and scared him. He released me and took off running. The woman who found me, the one in the car, said that he ran to across the street and jumped into a black car. She wasn't about to see what kind it was since it sped away. I wish I could give me details, but I don't have anything else. I've said all I know." Christian gently placed his hand on Mia's shoulder to ease the agitation she was feeling.

"Hey, hey, it's all right. The police are working to find the guy, and I've got Welch on it too."

"Of course you do.", she laughed. "How about we talk about something more positive? How are Ana and the kids?"

"They're great. She was going to come with me, but when she woke up, she wasn't feeling the best. Even though she kept saying that she was fine, I insisted that she stay put and rest."

"You should have stayed home with her."

"Landon's in school, and Gail's watching Layken. I'm sure Landon will be helping with her once he gets home. She seems to enjoy giving her brother a hard time, but I think that's natural with all little sisters.", Christian teased as Grace nodded in agreement.

"I'll have you know that I didn't always give you a hard time. I had to take time out to sleep as well as give Elliot his fair share of torturing. I don't suppose you've said anything to Landon about this." Mia waved her hand over her bruised body.

"He overheard me and Ana talking last night and wanted to know if Aunt Mia was ok. I didn't know how to handle the situation so I told him that you had a boo boo but were going to be ok." Christian reached into his pocket and gave Mia the folder piece of paper which Landon had given him before leaving for school. "He wanted me to give you this." Mia unfolded the paper and saw several hearts with "get well soon" at the top.

"He's a sweet kid. Both of your kids are sweet, and I'm positive the new baby will be as well.", Mia said with a yawn.

"I'm going to now and let you get some sleep. I'll check back in on you later."

"Any other time I would disagree, but I'm finding it hard to keep my eyes open. Thank you for coming over."

"No need to thank me for being your brother." Christian stood and leaned forward, kissing the top of Mia's head as her eyes closed. He turned and followed Grace out of the room and into the living room just as Ethan and Carrick were coming out of the kitchen. "Hey there you guys are.

"We got back a few minutes ago and were putting away the groceries.", Carrick replied. "How's Mia?"

"She's asleep." Christian looked at Ethan whose eyes were showing signs of exhaustion. "You look like you could use some sleep as well."

"I'm fine or I will be when we find the bastard who did that to Mia.", he murmured. "I was supposed to go with her yesterday, but my friend Mark needed me to come over and help him install a new dishwasher. If only I had been with her..."

"Ethan, you need to stop blaming yourself.", Grace told him. "What happened wasn't your fault. Ok?"

"The police don't have anything yet. Of course I've lost count the number of times I've called them. What about Welch? Has he found anything yet?"

"When I talked with him this morning he hadn't found anything, but he's working around the clock on it. I've made sure this is his top priority."

* * *

"I feel bad about not going to see to Mia.", Ana said as she got ready to change Layken into a fresh shirt following a pudding mishap. Christian handed her the pink long sleeve that he had been holding. "This one has a puppy dog on it. Do you want to wear it?"

"No. No dog.", Layken answered. Christian took the shirt and placed it back in the closet so he could find another one.

"Mia understood that you weren't feeling well. If you feel better tomorrow, you can have Sawyer take you over there. I've got a budget meeting that I'd rather not attend." Scouring through the closet, he found a yellow sweater which he showed Layken. "I'll take that smile as a yes."

"Daddy, Mom, where are you?", Landon asked after being picked up from school by Sawyer. He stopped in the doorway of Layken's bedroom and tossed his backpack down on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Changing your sister's shirt. She decided that she wanted to put her hands in her pudding and then smear the pudding all over her shirt.", Christian answered, "How was school?"

"It was good. Jeremy Greer said that Sawyer looked like the Hulk. He asked Sawyer if he could pick up cars."

"I'm sure Sawyer was flattered by that.", Ana giggled. "Do you have a lot of homework?"

"I've got two pages. Can I wait until after dinner to work on them?"

"How about I help you with them before dinner?", Christian suggested. "That way you'll have them out of the way and be able to watch dinner after dinner."

"Or play with Layken." Layken scurried across the floor to Landon and placed her hands around his leg. "I missed you today.

"Lan Lan.", she giggled.

"I'm going to go and get a snack before starting my work. I'll see you later Layken. Bye." As Landon moved out into the hallway, Layken held her tiny hand up to him. Once he was out of sight, she moved back to Christian and Ana. Christian handed Layken her prized stuffed teddy bear just as his phone rang.

"It's Welch. Maybe he's found something.", he sighed. "Welch, hello." Ana took Layken in her arms and sat down in the rocking chair across from where Christian was standing. "That's all you've been able to get? The police haven't found anything yet. I understand. Ok. Call me as soon as you find anything. Bye."

"Has he found anything?", Ana asked.

"He was able to able to get the footage from a camera in the supply store's parking lot. It was aimed in the direction of the street. The black car that the guy jumped in was a newer model Volkswagen Passat. It was a car behind Mia when she arrived at the store. Once she started turning into the parking lot, the car parked in the parking lot across the street. About ten minutes later, a tall dark haired guy got out of the car and crossed the street to the store. Welch was able to zoom in and see that he had something that looked like a ski mask in his hand."

"So he waited until he got to Mia to put on his mask? I guess he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Was Welch able to see anything else when he zoommed in?"

"Except for the fact that the guy appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties, there wasn't anything else. He's going to get in touch with the police to see about what he's found. It's possible they've already inspected the footage, but they may not have. Welch is pretty good at what he does."

* * *

"Christian.", Ana groaned through the darkness of their bedroom. She lightly tapped him on the shoulder but got no response. "Christian, wake up." She then began shaking his shoulders until she heard him make a noise.

"Hmm, what?"

"It's time to go."

"Time to go where?", he asked through grogginess.

"Time to go for a run. What do you think? It's time to go to the hospital."

"Oh." He turned and saw her nod her head. "Oh. Ok. How long have you been having contractions?"

"Not long, but they're strong." Christian rolled out of the bed and joined her on the floor where she was holding her stomach and breathing through another contraction. "I'm going to...change."

"All right. I'm going to call Gail so she can watch the kids. What time is it anyway?" He glanced over his shoulder and saw the alarm clock had midnight. "If I can't get her, I'll call Taylor's phone. He's a light sleeper." He bent down to eye level with Ana, kissing her softly. "It's going to be ok."

"I know."

"What's going on?", Landon asked his parents as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What are you doing?"

"We didn't mean to wake you sweet boy.", Ana apologized.

"I woke up on my own. I was thirsty. Mom, why's your suitcase out? Are you going on a trip?"

"I'm going to the hospital. Your brother or sister is on the way." Landon shifted his eyes to Christian who was on the phone with Gail. "Miss Gail's going to come and stay with you and your sister. She should be here soon. Why don't you go back to bed and get some sleep?"

"But now I'm too excited to sleep. Can I stay up until I get sleepy? Tomorrow's Saturday so I won't fall asleep in class."

"How about you go and check on your sister to make sure she's still sleeping, and the once Miss Gail get here, you can stay up for a while. I've got a feeling that you'll be sleepy soon enough.", Christian said.

"All right."

After Gail and Taylor arrived, she and Landon went to the kitchen for some hot chocolate while Taylor drove Ana and Christian to the hospital. Ana's contractions were coming four minutes apart and lasting a minute by the time they were settled in the room.

"Ana, Christian, I can't say that I'm surprised to see you here.", Dr. Greene said as she arrived in Ana's room. "When I saw you the other day, I had a feeling you wouldn't make it to your due date."

"I'm glad that I didn't. I'm anxious to meet our new baby."

"Me too.", Christian added while Dr. Greene began examining Ana. "How far is the dilation?"

"It appears that Ana's at six." As Dr. Greens stood, another contraction hit Ana. "Do you want something for pain?"

"No. I'm determined to have a...drug-free birth this go-around too.", Ana replied through the contraction. She tightened her grip on Christian's hand. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you."

"You're not. Oh, um, Taylor was going to call everyone for us. I was going to do it, but he offered. Do you need anything?" With the contraction over, Ana was able to fully ponder his question. "You name it, I'll get it."

"I actually can't think of anything. Having you by my side is enough."

* * *

Four hours later, Ana was still in labor but getting closer to delivery. The family had arrived and were anxiously waiting in the waiting room. Carla and Ray volunteered to sit with Ana while a reluctant Christian grabbed coffee with Carrick and Grace.

"Welch was able to find some things on the store's parking lot camera.", Christian told his parents before taking a sip of his coffee. "The guy was driving a Volkswagen Passat. He was able to zoom in somewhat on the guy as he went towards the store, but he didn't get a lot."

"What about the street cameras? I'm sure either him or the police might be able to find something on there. If the guy turned into the parking lot across the street from the store, it's possible the angle might be well enough to get at least a partial plate number.", Grace said.

"Someone's been watching her crime shows.", Carrick grin, trying to make light of the situation. "But you do have a point. Christian, can Welch get that footage."

"He was going to try and get it when I spoke with him. The store more than willingly handed him the parking lot footage, but the street camera tapes are going to be harder to get but not impossible. The police could very well have that footage as we speak."

"If they do, they haven't told us."

"Maybe they're not wanting to get our hopes up and are waiting to see how things pan out.", Grace added. She finished off the last of her coffee and noticed that Carrick and Christian were still drinking theirs. "Is the coffee not adequate for the two of you?"

"Mom, this coffee is probably the strongest brew I've ever had. I'm not sure if I can finish it.", Christian laughed. "I need to call and check on things at the house before getting back to Ana. I'll see you guys back upstairs." After tossing the rest of his coffee, Christian took out his phone and called Gail.

"Hello Mr. Grey.", she answered. "Do we have a baby yet?"

"Not yet. We're getting there though. How are things there?"

"Both kids are sound asleep. Landon was out not long after drinking his hot chocolate. You should have heard him expressing his excitement over the new baby." As Christian was about to push the button for the elevator, the door slid open. Seeing Ray Christian sensed something was going on.

"Gail, I've got to go but give the kids a kiss for me. I'll call you later." He shoved the phone into his pocket and jumped inside the elevator with Ray. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Dr. Greene said Ana's ready to push so I came looking for you." Christian grinned and began pacing the small space while waiting to arrive on Ana's floor. "Are you nervous?"

"Me, nervous? Phew.", Christian scoffed. "I'm not the least bit nervous." The moment the elevator door opened, Christian ran to Ana's room. "I'm so sorry that I'm late. I shouldn't have gotten coffee, but I'll be better next time."

"Next time?", she asked as Dr. Greene laughed. "Do you hear him? This baby's not even here yet and he's already planning the next one."

"Ana, you know the drill.", Dr. Greene said. She and two nurses were gathered at the end of the bed. "On the count of three, push. Ok?"

"Got it."

"One..two..three..push." Christian's hand remained locked with Ana's as she pushed. "Good. Again. One..two..three..push." With sweat trickling, Ana pushed harder the second time. "You're doing great."

"Dr. Greene's right. You're doing so good.", Christian smiled.

"I'm getting tired. Can we take a break?"

"No breaks. You're almost there.", Dr. Greene replied. "One...two..three...push. I can see the head. I need you to give me the biggest push possible." Ana gritted her teeth through the pain and nodded. "One...two...three...push..." The room went silent for a second before being filled with the joyous sound of the newest Grey crying. Christian's eyes were consumed with tears as he looked down at the baby in Dr. Greene's arms.

"A son. We have another son."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"When are you going to tell use if we have a brother or sister?", an impatient Landon asked as Christian led him to Ana's hospital room. Following the birth of the new baby, Christian and Ana decided to surprise Landon and Layken with the gender.

"Baby.", Layken said from Christian's arms.

"But what is the baby? Is it a boy or a girl?" Layken narrowed her eyes in confusion at her brother.

"Baby.", she repeated. Landon rolled his eyes but couldn't help but giggle at her.

"You'll see soon.", Christian answered with a grin. They turned the final corner of the hallway and arrived at Ana's room. "Your mom and/or the baby may be sleeping so be quiet when we go in." Landon mockingly zipped lips as Layken placed her finger to her mouth.

The second Christian eased the door open, Ana turned her head and smiled at her family. She mouthed hi before nodding towards the bassinet where the baby was sound asleep. Landon tiptoed to see his new sibling.

"Blue.", he whispered to Christian and Ana. "I have a brother."

"You have a brother.", Ana repeated. "Hi guys."

"Mama.", Layken said while stretching her arms towards Ana.

"Mommy can't hold you.", Christian said.

"You can put her on the bed next to me. Landon, do you want to get up here too?"

"Nah. I'd rather stay here and watch my brother." While Landon stood in silence watching the baby, Christian eased Layken on to the bed with Ana. Ana leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Do you see your new brother?", Ana asked Layken. Layken shifted her attention from her mom to the baby who was beginning to stir.

"Baby play?", Layken replied.

"Not yet. The baby's too little to play, but he can when he gets older." Seconds later, the baby's eyes opened and was proceeded by crying. "I just fed him so that's probably going to be a dirty diaper."

"Oh boy.", Landon murmured. "Daddy, do you need a diaper?"

"Yeah. There's some on the table behind you. Will you please get one?" Landon nodded and reached for a diaper which he gave to Christian. "I was so excited about the baby that I forgot to ask what his name is."

"We decided to name him Liam Andrew Grey. How does that sound?"

"Great. It starts with an L like Landon and Layken. Mom, when are you and Liam going to be home?"

"Tomorrow. We can't wait to get to the house.", Ana answered. "Do you want to hold your brother?" Without having to think about it, Landon moved to leather sofa on the left side of the room and held his arms out. Christian finished changing Liam's diaper and walked to the sofa, slowly placing Liam in Landon's arms. "Support his head. You're doing good."

"Knock, knock.", Ray said as he and Carla opened the door.

"Well it looks like we have a family gathering going on."

"Hi Grandpa. I have a brother now. That's cool, huh?"

"Very cool. He's a cute little fella. One might say he's...what's the word? Carla, what is that word that Landon says? I can't think of it." Ray tapped his chin jokingly.

"Hmm, I've heard him say it, but I can't recall. Could it be adorable?", Carla asked.

"Adorbs.", Landon smiled. "He's adorbs."

* * *

"Dinner was delicious Mom. Thank you for inviting us over.", Christian thanked Grace while wiping pasta sauce from Layken's mouth. With Ana still in the hospital and Carla and Ray having a date night at the insistance of Christian, Grace decided to invite Christian and the kids over for dinner. "I was going to attempt to make homemade chicken noodle soup, but your lasagna was much better."

"I have no doubts that your soup would have turned out well. Besides, you can always make it another time. I made chocolate cookies for dessert. Landon, would you like one?"

"Please."

"Carrick, Christian?", Grace asked. Carrick took the last bite of his dinner and shook his head. "No cookies for you? Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm feeling great. I'll have a cookie or two later, but I've got something I need to do in my study. Christian, could you help me for a second?" Christian noticed the seriousness in Carrick's voice as he spoke.

"Um, sure Dad. I'll help." Christian pushed his chair back and stood as Landon grabbed a cookie from the counter. "Mom, do you mind keeping an eye on the kids?"

"Not at all."

"Can I help you?", Landon asked.

"Not this time. It's grownup stuff which means it'll be boring.", Carrick said. "You'll have more fun with your grandmother and Layken. I promise we'll be back before you know it."

"Would I be correct in assuming that you've got news on Mia's attack?", Christian asked Carrick once they were behind the closed door of the study.

"Yes. Not long before you arrived for dinner I got a call from Ethan who was contacted by Nathan Parish, one of the detectives on Mia's case. Detective Parish knew that Ethan was going stir crazy in anticipation of any news so he called to give him an update. The police were able to get the street camera footage from around the time of the attack. After analyzing it, they saw the Passat and got a plate number."

"Great. Did the run the number and get the scumbag's name?"

"The detective said the car was registered to Charles Roy, a fifty-two year old real estate agent from Seattle. It turns out that the car was reported stolen the same day as Mia's attack."

"So we still don't know who the driver was? Fuck.", Christian muttered. He pulled at his hair while pacing the study floor. "Why did the detective even call Ethan if he knew the so-called lead was going to end in a dead-end? As much as we need answers, they shouldn't waste our time on meaningless crap."

"I'm not going to disagree, but there may be hope. Detective Parish told Ethan that Charles Roy's demeanor was off. He answered the questions but seemed nervous which he claimed was due to the fact that he's not a very sociable guy."

"Detective Parish didn't believe him?"

"No. He believes Charles Roy knows more than he's letting on."

* * *

"Welcome home Mom and Liam.", Landon said as he, Ray, and Carla stood at the door upon's Ana's arrival home with baby Liam.

"It's good to be home." Ana looked down at her arms which held the bundled up newborn. "Liam, this is your home. You're going to love it here. This house is filled with love and laughter."

"I keep it fun."

"You certainly do.", Christian chuckled. "Where's Layken?"

"She's taking a nap following her busy day of running and playing.", Carla sighed with a giggled.

"I'm going to lay this baby boy down for a nap as well.", Ana said. She noticed that Christian was busy studying his phone screen. "You ok?"

"I'm fine. I have a missed call from Ethan. I'll call him back later. Let's get this little guy settled in."

"Why don't you call him back while I lay him down? Landon, do you want to help me?"

"Yep. Dad, is Aunt Mia feeling better yet?", Landon asked.

"When I talked to her this morning, she was a little better. Her boo boos are healing, and she's going to try and come by in a few days to see all of us. I'll call Ethan to see what he needed, and then I'll be upstairs."

"Carla and I are going to watch some tv for a while.", Ray said. "One of the movie channels is having a Cary Grant movie marathon."

"Enjoy.", Christian told them before going to the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of water before dialing Ethan's number.

"Christian, hey.", Ethan answered. "I didn't realize it until I dialed your number that you were probably busy with the baby. I'm sorry. My mind has been cloudy."

"It's ok and understandable. How's thing at your house?"

"So so. I was calling because we think we know who attacked Mia. Mia was complaining earlier that she was bored so she asked me to go to your parents' and grab her highschool yearbooks from her old room. When I got back with them, we sat on the bed and looked through them. We were browsing the pages of her junior year one when a senior guy's name popped out, Zachary Charles Roy."

"Any relation to the Charles Roy who owned the Passat?"

"Yes. Mia remembered Zachary Roy being a little odd during school. He never spoke to her, but he would stare. She recalled him watching her one day while he had a sketch pad in front of him. She dismissed it as a crush which ended when he transferred schools. She's looked at the yearbook before but hasn't paid much attention to the full names of people. As soon as she saw his full name on the page, she started wondering if maybe he's behind what happened to her. I called Detective Parish and told him our suspicions. He then told us that his background check on Charles uncovered a son, Zachary Charles Roy."

"The guy who's car was stolen and used by the attacker happens to have a son who had a crush on Mia in school. It could be a coincidence or the fucker could be the one behind Mia's attack."

"Mia's got a gut feeling that it's him."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Play ball." Layken pointed to the plastic ball Landon had placed in the corner of his bedroom. Christian smiled and looked up from the dinosaur poster he was helping Landon make for school.

"Daddy and Landon will play ball with you in a few minutes.", Christian told her. She studied the two of them before wobbling to the spot on the floor where they were sitting. Squatting, she reached for one of the markers.

"Oh no Layken. You'll get marker all over you.", Landon said as he moved the marker from her reach. "We're almost finished with my poster, and then we'll play with you. Ok?"

"O-tay."

"I just need to add some red to this guy and then...I'm done."

"It looks amazing Landon.", Ana said while walking into the room. "You did a great job." Landon stood and placed the poster on top of his desk, admiring the work before him.

"Daddy was a big help."

"I only did a little bit of it. You did most of the work.", Christian replied. He looked at Ana who had sat on the edge of Landon's bed with Layken curled up next to her. "Is Liam asleep?"

"Yeah. He went to sleep with a full tummy." With her arm around Layken, Ana admired Layken's pigtails which were held by red ribbons. "Baby girl, your daddy did a good job with your hair."

"I'm improving. "I'll never forget the first time I tried to fix her hair. She wouldn't be still and kept moving."

"Layken only had one pigtail.", Landon laughed. "It was funny." He picked up the ball from the corner and held it in front of Layken. "Do you want to play with the ball now?" Although Layken had crawled up on to the bed on her own, she held her arms out for Christian to help her down. As soon as she was on her feet, Landon handed the ball to her. She closed her arms the best she could to keep the ball from falling to the floor. "Pass me the ball."

"No.", she giggled.

"Gail said everyone was upstairs, and now I can see this is where the party is.", Mia said as she and Ethan stood in the doorway. The bruises were from her attack were barely visible thanks to the makeup she was wearing.

"Aunt Mia.", Landon said. He ran and accepted the embrace she offered before turning to hug Ethan. "Are you feeling better?"

"I've still got some boo boos, but I'm better than I was, especially now that I'm here with you guys. I've missed you."

"We missed you too.", Ana smiled. "Would you like to go and meet your new nephew?"

"I'd love to. Landon, Layken, what do you think about Liam?"

"Baby night night.", Layken answered.

"Liam is adorbs. He's only...um..." Landon stopped and counted back the days. "Four days old, but I already love him very much."

"And he loves you and your sister.", Christian told him.

* * *

"Your big brother was right. You are adorbs.", Mia whispered while holding Liam. The nap he took before Mia and Ethan arrived was short-lived with him waking up after only thirty minutes. Mia turned and smiled at Ethan who was busy taking photos from his seat next to her on the sofa. "Say cheese Liam." With Landon and Layken playing in Landon's room, Christian decided to talk with Mia and Ethan about Zachary Roy, the guy who the police were searching for in Mia's attack.

"I assume the police still haven't found that scumbag."

"Not yet. Despite the fact that his dad claims he stole the car, the police aren't convinced that he doesn't know Zachary's whereabouts. It's quiet possible that Charles Roy reported the car stolen to help cover what his son did.", Ethan answered.

"Why after all this time would he go after Mia?", Ana asked.

"I wish I knew.", Mia replied. "I have more questions than answers. There's nothing I want more than to be able to go to bed at night with some closure."

"You'll get it. The police are doing everything they can as is Welch.", Christian told her. "In fact, Welch looked over Zachary's phone records from the past few months. There was one particular number which he called mutiple times a day. The calls would only last a few minutes and were sometimes mere minutes apart. That same number made a few calls to Zachary's phone, but the frequency wasn't nearly as much as the ones he placed."

"Who does the number belong to?"

"A woman by the name of Ginger Patterson who secured a restraining order against Zachary Roy a month ago. According to the file, the two of them had a brief relationship which ended a few months ago. However, Zachary didn't want to accept that it was over so he continuosly called and drove by her house. She came home from work one evening to find him parked in front of her house, but he left when she asked him to. She let things go until he almost ran her off the road one night when she was out with a friend."

"Dang. It sounds like he snapped, but it still doesn't explain why he attacked me.", Mia sighed. I haven't seen the guy since high school, and yet, he felt the need to beat me up."

"Um Mom, Daddy.", Landon said as he helped held Layken's hand while coming down the stairs. Christian and Ana turned their heads to find Layken with marker all over his left arm. "Layken got my marker."

"Draw.", Layken said with her arm held up.

"How did she get the marker?", Christian asked.

"I forgot to write my name on my poster so I got a marker out to do it, but she grabbed it from me and began scribbling all over her arm. When I tried to get it from her, she ran into her bedroom. I finally got it though." Christian stood and picked up Layken who continued to show everyone her artwork.

"Let's get this marker off."

"O-tay."

* * *

"Are we sure this is the right place?", Elliot asked Christian as they sat in front of a small brick house. Christian looked at the number on the house and then the address Welch gave him earlier that morning. The two matched. During his search into Zachary Roy's background, Welch discovered that Zachary had lived with his aunt for a while during his high school days. The police told Christian they would talk to her later that day, but seeing Mia distraught the night before caused Christian to become impatient. He decided to take it upon himself to speak with Zachary's aunt. Elliot had overheard the conversation between Christian and Welch so he invited himself on the trip.

"This is it.", Christian answered. As he got out of the Escalade, he saw a red haired woman in her late forties step out of the house.

"Can I help you?", she asked.

"I hope so. Are you Helen Roy?" The woman's eyes shifted to Elliot and Taylor who were standing behind Christian.

"Yes, and you are?"

"I'm Christian Grey. I'd like to ask you a few questions about your nephew Zachary. My big question is have you seen him?"

"I haven't seen him since last week. He came over for dinner and left. Mr. Grey, why are you asking about my nephew?"

"Are you aware the police are looking for him?" Helen's entire body stiffened at the mention of the police.

"Police? That's ridiculous. Zachary may have issues, but he's not a criminal."

"I beg to differ.", Elliot interjected. "Your nephew beat up our sister. The bastard should be behind bars."

"I'm sorry for whatever happened to your sister, but Zachary wouldn't hurt anyone. It's all probably a big misunderstanding.", she muttered, glancing over her shoulder. "If I see him, I'll have him contact the police so he can get things sorted out. Will that work?"

"What would work is you going in there and telling your nephew to bring his ass out here.", Elliot snarled as he moved past a confused Christian. "I saw someone looking out that window." He pointed to the first window on the right side of the house. "Hey Zachary, why don't you stop being a coward and come out?! I know you're in there. Or do you only like hitting women?!"

"Is your nephew in that house?", Christian asked Helen. "Answer me." She looked down at the pavement and nodded. "Taylor, call the police and tell them Zachary Roy's here."

"He's not a bad guy.", Helen reiterated. Elliot began stomping towards the house but was soon stopped by Christian who pushed him back.

"Don't Elliot. Just like you, I'd like nothing more than to go in there and beat the hell out of him much worse than what he did to Mia, but he's not worth it. You've got Kate and the kids, and I've Ana and my kids."

"The police are on their way sir.", Taylor told Christian whose eyes widened upon seeing the front door of Helen's house open. A young tall dark-haired guy stepped out of the house with his eyes trained on Christian and Elliot.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to join us.", Elliot snarled.

"I heard you being rude to my aunt.", the guy said as Taylor rushed at him and began to pat him down. "I'm not armed. I thought I'd come out here and see what the commotion was about. You were asking about me."

"Zachary Roy, we finally meet. We stopped by here to ask your aunt if she's seen you, but voilà, here you are. Since you're here, you can answer the question of why you attacked our sister."

"And who would that be?" Zachary crossed his arms and smirked at the Grey brothers.

"Mia.", Christian replied. "You beat her up outside of a restaurant supply store. Why?"

"Ah, Mia. How is Mia?"

"Dude, really? You're going to ask how she is as if you're concerned? You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Your sister is the reason why I can't have a normal relationship. She's the reason my fiancé broke up with me."

"Explain that."

"Mia was the prettiest in high school. I'd sit and watch her as she turned the pages in her books. I was in awe of her, but I never got the courage to say anything. I ended up transferring to another school which ended any hopes of having a chance with her. I moved on and was doing well. I got engaged to a nice girl, but she said I was too needy so she ended things. I may have been a little angry towards her."

"From what we heard, you stalked her."

"Stalking is a harsh word. I only followed her a few times. Besides, things started looking better when I went to a dinner party which was being catered by none other than Mia. I saw her in the kitchen and almost said hi, but my nerves got the best of me. I actually ended up leaving because it was too hard to be around her. I got home and made the decision to get over my fear. I was determined to find out whatever I could about her so I could be prepared for the next time I saw her. I wasn't thrilled to find out that she's married. I was pissed at her and at myself. If I hadn't be so shy in high school, we might be married today."

"You're reaching.", Christian murmured.

"I found out where she lives, and then a few days ago, I got into an argument with my ex. I was in a bad state. I went to Mia's and saw her leaving so I followed her. I was reeling from my ex telling me that I was pathetic. I needed to show her that I wasn't pathetic."

"You did it.", Helen gasped. "When you showed up here and told me the police thought you were involved in that girl's attack, you swore you were innocent." The sound of sirens blared as a police car arrived. Two officers got out of the car and immediately demanded that Zachary to put his hands up. After relenting for a few minutes, he finally surrendered.

"You wanted to know how Mia was doing. I'll tell you how she's doing. She's sore and bruised on the outside, but on the inside, she's still the strong and resilient girl who she's always been. My sister is a bad ass who won't let you bring her down.", Christian said. "Now get the fuck out of my sight." Zachary rolled his eyes before being lead to the police car.

* * *

"Someone must have taken the scenic route on the way to get diapers.", Ana smiled knowingly when Christian finally returned home. He opened the bag in his hand and pulled out a package of diapers. "But you have them."

"I told you that I was going for diapers.", he shrugged.

"Not that we won't need these diapers eventually, but did you not see the stack of diapers in the nursery?"

"We can never have too many. Where are the kids?"

"Liam's sleeping, and Landon and Layken are in the family room where they're watching a cartoon with Sawyer. Oh, and Scooby's in there with them too. Layken insisted that the doggy go with them."

"I take it we haven't had any more marker mishaps.", Christian laughed as he slowly pulled Ana on to the sofa with him.

"Not today. Tomorrow however is a new day with new possibilities for her to get into things."

"She's a little mischievous, huh? I think she gets that from her mom." Christian's reward for his comment was a playful jab in the side. "But she gets her sweetness from her mom as well."

"You're doing a good job at avoiding the issue of where you really were. Your hands don't look like you've just hit someone, but you could have had Taylor do it for you."

"I didn't do anything and neither did Taylor. How did you know where we really were?", Christian asked.

"Mia called and said the police were on their way to a house where Zachary was staying. Of course I already had suspicions when you suddenly felt the need to get diapers after you came from the study. It was also odd that both you and Elliot had to go and get them."

"Connor and Charlotte needed diapers too.", Christian laughed. "It was hard not to resort to violence, but I knew it wasn't the right thing for me or Elliot to do."

"You did the right thing even though I'm upset with you for going to that house in the first place. You should have waited for the police.", Ana murmured. "What if he had done something to you?"

"I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry." Ana placed her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath.

"I forgive you."

"Daddy, you're back. Do you want to watch a movie with us?", Landon asked after leading Layken into the room. "It's not over yet."

"I'd love to watch a movie you. Layken, are you liking the movie?", Christian asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, how could I say no to movie time?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"I could have sworn that I just picked up this blanket not even five minutes ago.", Christian sighed as he bent down and picked up Layken's pink bunny blanket. He glanced over at Layken who was sitting in the floor with her army of stuffed animals. "Layken, I think you have your brother beat in the toy littering category. I'm going to put this blanket back in the rocking chair. How about we leave it there, ok?"

"I want.", she pouted with her arms reaching for the blanket. Christian handed her the blanket which she clutched to her chest.

"All right, how about you put it in the chair when you get done with it?"

"Daddy, she's not going to listen. She'll leave it on the floor with her other things.", Landon said as he padded into the room.

"I do it.", Layken stated with a glare at her brother.

"You heard her.", Christian laughed. "I've got to run to GEH for a bit so I can turn in some papers and check on things. Be good for your mom while I'm gone."

"We will Daddy.", Landon smiled. "Won't we Layken?"

"Uh-huh."

Christian pulled Landon into a hug and then kissed Layken on the top of her head. He watched as Landon sat down in the floor with Layken, causing her to laugh by making animal sounds for the stuffed animals.

"Mr. Frog says ribbet ribbet." Christian reluctantly left the kids and headed to the master bedroom where Ana had just finished changing Liam. Hearing him approach, she turned and smiled.

"I'm going to head out in a few minutes but wanted to say goodbye to you and Liam." Christian leaned in and placed a kiss on the baby's cheek. "I've already told your brother and sister to be good for Mommy, but how about you keep an eye on them just in case?"

"I would Daddy, but I'm going to take a nap.", Ana said in a baby voice.

"Rest good. I love you." Christian brought his eyes up to Ana and touched her lips with his. "I love you too Mrs. Grey."

"And I love you."

* * *

"Hey Ros. Here are the signed contracts for the Kinley account." Ros removed her reading glasses and took the folder which Christian was holding.

"You could have sent them via messenger or I could have stopped by to pick them up."

"I wanted to check in on how things are going here anyway."

"They're going good. The more important question is how are things at your house? Is everyone adjusting well with the new addition?", Ros asked as Christian sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

"Everyone seems to be adjusting well. The Grey home is a happy place these days."

"I imagine that also has to do with the fact that Mia's attacker is behind bars." Although Zachary Roy had been arrested two days ago the anger and hostility Christian felt for the man remained. Ros watched as Christian's jaw tightened. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that."

"It's all right. Having Zachary Roy in custody has definitely improved our lives. Mia's still not fully physically or emotionally recovered, but she now has the capability of doing so without having to look over her shoulder."

"I've got to hand it to you for keeping your cool and not beating the guy up. In my mind I had this vision of you and Elliot roughing the guy up pretty good."

"In my mind I did, but I wasn't about to take the chance of making matters worse." Christian glanced down at his watch and stood. "I should get back to the house. Dinner's in an hour or so. Then we'll relax for a while before getting the kids ready for bed. I'll be back first thing Monday morning."

"Ah, I'm glad you mentioned Monday. Jeffrey Kinley is wanting us to meet him for breakfast at nine. I suggested that we do lunch instead, but he was insistent on breakfast. Would that be ok with you?"

"Breakfast will be ok. It'll be my second of the day." Ros placed her chin on her hand and narrowed her eyes. "Landon and I were talking yesterday about the importance of breakfast before school. He then told me that I shouldn't skip it before work. We ended up making a pact that we would have breakfast together every single morning even when I've got breakfast meetings like the one for Monday."

"Christian Grey, that's a wonderful pact the two of you made. The only downsize is when you have to go out of town. What then?"

"I'm already a step ahead of you. We'll Skype.", he answered with an ear to ear grin.

* * *

"What happened?" The first thing Christian saw upon returning home was Ana applying a band-aid to Layken's arm. He shrugged off his coat and rushed to the chair where Layken was sitting.

"She started running after Scooby and fell." Christian bent down to eye level with Layken and placed a gentle kiss on her injury.

"I know it hurts, but maybe that'll help make it feel better." Layken's tears slowed as she grinned at Christian. "Where's your brother?"

"He's finishing up his homework.", Ana replied. "Dinner's got a few more minutes but should be ready by the time I get back from looking in on Liam." Christian noticed that Ana's eyes were slightly red as if she had been crying.

"Are you ok?", he asked. He picked up Layken who snuggled against his chest.

"I'm...fine." Ana opened the oven door to check on the baking chicken. "Just a few more minutes. I'll be back down soon." Not satisfied with her answer, Christian followed behind her up the stairs. Ana stopped on the second stair and turned towards him. "Christian, you don't have to go with me. Why don't you and Layken stay down here?"

"I would be more than happy to do that if you would be honest and tell me why you've been crying." The sound of Landon's bedroom door opening drew their attention.

"We can talk after dinner. Ok?"

"Fine."

"What are you guys doing?", Landon asked from the top of the stairs.

"We're just talking. Did you get your homework done?"

"Yep."

* * *

"I brought you some hot chocolate." Ana moved her hand from underneath the velour throw covering her body and took the piping hot beverage from Christian. Christian settled next to her on the sofa and gazed at the fire roaring from the fire place. "This is nice."

"It is. My strong man did a good job at building the fire with the wood he chopped.", she teased even though it was an electric fireplace.

"Ha ha. Do you have enough marshmallows?"

"Um yeah. I have more than enough."

"How about we talk about earlier? What had you so upset?", Christian asked.

"My dad called when you were gone and told me that Jose Rodriguez Sr. was found dead in his jail cell."

"What happened?"

"He hung himself." Ana's thoughts took her back to the day that she was ambushed by Jack Hyde and Jose Sr. She knew it had been Jose's father's grief that caused him to help Jack, but she still believed that he crossed a line. "A note was found near him. It stated that he was tired of living in this world without his son." Ana sniffled through her words. "My dad's pretty upset. He and Jose Sr. were friends for years. I think the memory of killing Jose still haunts my dad at times."

"Your dad did what he had to do. Now that we've got three little ones, I can see things from his perspective. He was protecting his daughter, his only remaining child."

"I can't sleep.", Landon said as he walked into the living room. "That wind is too loud." Christian moved on the sofa so Landon could sit between him and Ana. "The tree branch keeps scratching the window."

"I'm sorry buddy. Why don't you stay here with us for a while and see if you get sleepy? If you fall asleep, I'll carry you to your room.", Christian told him.

"Ok. What are you drinking Mom?"

"Hot chocolate. Would you like some. Wait. I have a better idea, warm milk. It'll help."

"All right."

"I'll go and fix it." Christian placed his feet on the floor and headed to the kitchen.

"I checked on Layken and Liam. They were still asleep."

"Thank you.", Ana said. "Liam should be waking up in a few minutes for his feeding." On cue, she heard Liam's cries through the baby monitor. "What did I tell ya? Tell your dad that I'm upstairs with Liam but will be back soon."

"I'll tell him." Ana stood and started out of the room. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you.", Landon smiled.

"I love you too sweet boy."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"The funeral is at two. I have a feeling there's not going to be a lot of people in attendance.", my mom sighs from her end of our phone conversation. "Most of Jose's remaining family turned their backs on him after the incident." Ana didn't have to ask her mother to define the incident she mentioned. She knew it all too well. Memories of Jose Rodriguez Sr. helping Jack Hyde by almost killing her were etched in Ana's mind. "Your dad has gone back and forth in trying to decide if he should attend. I understand his reason for not wanting to go, but I also feel he needs to say goodbye to his friend."

"I agree. If not attend to mourn the man who just died, then do it to pay respects to the guy who he used to know, the one who he went fishing with." Ana placed the phone on speaker, setting it down on coffee table as she checked on Liam who was in his portable bassinet next to the sofa. She gently adjusted the blanket on his lower body.

"I don't hear a lot of noise in the background there.", Carla laughed. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine. Landon's at school and Layken's spending the day with Mia. Liam's the only kid here, and he's giving me the silent treatment."

"Something tells me that won't last long."

"You're right." The words had barely rolled off Ana's tongue when Liam began crying. "Exactly right. It's time for a feeding. Mom, I'll call you later tonight or tomorrow." Ana ended the call and reached down to take the baby in her arms. "Are you hungry? Let's get you fed."

* * *

Ana was in the middle of feeding Liam in the bedroom when she heard footsteps approaching the room. She narrowed her eyes on the door as the it began to open. Seeing Christian walk into the room surprised her considering it was the middle of the work day, and he hadn't called to say he was coming home.

"Hi.", he grinned at her and Liam.

"Hi yourself. Not that we're aren't happy to see you, but why are you here?"

"I was about to start going over some files when I realized I couldn't go over them because I left them in my study. I had Taylor bring me here so I could get them. It also gives me the chance to see you and our little guy. I just wished Landon and Layken were here as well."

"I'm sure Landon's busy learning in school while Layken's being assertive with Mia.", Ana giggled. Christian blew out a breath and sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping his eyes on Ana as she breastfed Liam.

"Maybe letting her spend the day with Mia was a mistake."

"How so?"

"Layken's already got a diva aspect going on, and Mia will no doubt enable that."

"I do think she's enjoying her official reign over the house. Yesterday, I started counting how many times she said no, I do it, or I want that. I ended up losing count."

"If she comes home with a tiara...", Christian smirked.

"Aww, you and I both know you'd buy her one if she asked."

"I gave Gail tonight off. I hope you don't mind." Ana caressed Liam's head and looked up at Christian in confusion. She and Gail had talked earlier over tea, but Gail hadn't said anything about taking the evening off.

"I don't mind one bit. It's just news to me. Gail hasn't said a word about it.", Ana said.

"I only suggested it to her before I came upstairs." He sensed Ana was still curious. "I called Elliot earlier and brought up the idea of us cooking dinner tonight. He was hesitant at first but finally came around."

"Why do you want to cook for us?"

"To show our appreciation to you and Kate for everything you do. Both of you work hard to keep things in order and us happy. Besides, it'll give you the chance to get out of the house for a while without having any kids tagging along."

"Not only are you wanting to cook dinner but you're also going to watch the kids while we go out? Have you hit your head?" With Liam finished, she began patting his back to help him burp.

"We can manage.", Christian assured her.

"Fine." Despite agreeing to his idea, Ana still had doubts.

"Mama.", Layken said in the hallway outside. Christian grinned and moved to the door to greet his daughter. Her eyes brightened at the sight of her dad. "Dada."

"Hey there." Christian scooped Layken up in his arms as Mia shook her in laughter.

"Why are you here?", Mia asked, arching a brow at Christian.

"It would seem that I live here."

"You're a riot. I mean why aren't you terrorizing people at work?"

"I got tired and needed a break so I came here to see Ana and Liam.", Christian teased. "I needed to get some papers for work. Unfortunately, I need to get back soon. How was your day out?" Christian winked at Layken who tightened her arms around him.

"It was a nice day. Hanging out with Layken was fun. We did some shopping and then had lunch. Don't worry, I gave her as much sugar as possible." Ana knew Mia was joking, but the glare Christian gave his sister indicated he wasn't too sure. "You can thank me when she's bouncing off the walls at bedtime."

"Bounce.", Layken giggled.

"Layken, your Aunt Mia is either kidding or wanting to get disowned.", Christian said.

"You should know by now that I'm joking."

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready for you might walk in on?", Kate asked Ana as Sawyer opened the front door of Ana and Christian's house. Christian and Elliot had convinced their wives to go out while they prepared dinner for them. They even volunteered to watch all five kids.

"I don't hear screaming which is good." They took off their coats and went in search of their family as Landon came downstairs.

"Mom, Aunt Kate, you're back." He greeted them with a smile that only made Kate and Ana more worried things had gone awry. "Did you have a nice time?"

"We weren't gone long but still managed to enjoy ourselves. Dare I ask where everyone else is?"

"Liam's asleep in his bassinet. Connor and Charlotte are crawling around the family room with Uncle Elliot. Daddy and Layken are cooking."

"More!", Layken shouted from the kitchen. Ana, Kate, and Landon immediately went to see what was going on. Once in the kitchen, they found Layken standing on a stool as she watched Christian stir the contents of the pot on the stove.

"Layken, we only need a dash of salt in the soup. Too much will make it taste bad."

"And be bad for you.", Landon added.

"Need more!", Layken shouted again. Ana walked to the stool and bent down to place a kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Momma, more."

"Baby girl, I think Daddy's got enough salt in there. I've got an idea. Why don't you go and play with your cousins while Daddy finishes working on dinner?" Layken debated briefly before nodding her head.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, everyone gathered in the dining room for the dinner of vegetable beef soup. Kate and Ana grinned at each other as they each picked up a spoon. Landon, noticing the two, picked up his own spoon and took a bite.

"Daddy, this soup is really good. Mom, Aunt Kate, it's ok to eat."

"Where you doubt my cooking?", Christian asked.

"Not yours. Elliot's.", Kate answered.

"I'm not even going to pretend that comment didn't hurt.", Elliot murmured. "The funny thing is I didn't have a part in cooking the soup. I watched the kids while Christian did the cooking."

"You let your brother do all the work? Elliot Grey, don't you feel bad?"

"Kind of but not really. I take it back. I did open a can of tomato juice for him. Teamwork baby." Landon almost choked on his water as he laughed at Elliot. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. You're silly Uncle Elliot. You act like a big kid, but that's ok."

"Thanks bud. Christian, you really did a good job with the soup." Everyone at the table agreed with Elliot, but Christian frowned following a bite. "You don't seem too pleased."

"It's missing something. Don't you guys think?"

"It's fine to me.", Ana replied. "What do you think it needs?" Christian stared at the bowl in front of him.

"More salt." He turned to Layken who was grinning almost knowingly from her high chair. "Layken, you were right. It needs more salt."

"More.", she mumbled.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"I ate all of my lunch today. See." Landon pointed to his Batman lunchbox which Ana opened and found empty. "It was delicious. Can I take more carrots and another cookie tomorrow? I promise I'll eat all of it again."

"Sure. What kind of sandwich do you want to take?"

"Can I take half of a peanut butter and jelly and half of a turkey sandwich?" Gail, who had barely stepped into the kitchen with Layken shared Ana's inquisitiveness.

"Of course, but why do you want two different kinds?", Ana asked. Landon seemed to mull over his answer.

"Um...I like both.", he shrugged. "Layken, I don't have any homework. Do you want to go and play?"

"O-tay.", she answered. Landon hopped down from his stool and took his sister's hand. "Mom, we're going to play."

"Your brother's sleeping so don't be too loud." Ana's eyes went to both Landon and Layken but stayed on Layken longer. The two kids grinned and left the room to go upstairs. "Landon's usually pretty good about not making too much noise, but Layken's another story.", Ana told Gail. "Landon's school is having a canned food drive next week. We've got tons of cans that we can send. When I read Landon the note about it, he started asking a lot of questions. He wanted to make sure the cans ended up where they were supposed to go. I assured him they would. I can't exactly put a finger on it, but his reaction was odd."

"Hmm. Landon's always had a kind heart so maybe he's just wanting to make sure all that can be done for the needy is being done."

"You're probably right. I'm going to check on the kids." Ana's feet had just touched the floor when she heard Liam's cries through the baby monitor. "Right on cue."

The moment Ana got to the top stair she saw Landon and Layken standing outside of her and Christian's bedroom. Both kids had their hands to their sides and their best innocent looks on their faces.

"We didn't wake him.", Landon immediately told her.

"No.", Layken added.

"We heard him crying and were going to go and check on him." Ana smiled as she rubbed the tops of the heads on her way into the bedroom. She found Liam wailing loudly from his bassinet. Soon after picking him up, his cries subsided.

"What's the matter little guy?", she asked. Landon and Layken stood in the doorway, watching as Ana walked the room with the baby. "There's your brother and sister."

"Hey Liam.", Landon grinned at the baby. "Did you sleep good?"

"Say yes. I had a good nap, and now I need to be changed." Ana moved to the changing table and began to unsnap Liam onesie.

"I think I heard Daddy. I'm going to go and see him. Layken, do you want to go?" Layken's eyes darted back and forth between Landon and Ana.

"Stay.", Layken answered.

"Hey.", Christian said when he saw Landon running down the stairs. "Be careful."

"I'm just excited to see you." Christian took off his jacket and hugged Landon. "Mom's upstairs changing Liam."

"Could that be another reason why you were in such a hurry?"

"No. Daddy, do you need any help at work?", Landon asked while Christian loosened his tie.

"Landon, if you want to work at my company you can when you get older, but for now you should enjoy being a kid."

"I am. I was just wondering."

"Well, I'm not sure about every department, but if someone wanted a job they could send in a résumé or stop by for an application. Even if there aren't any openings now, we could still hire the person in the future.", Christian replied. He noticed that Landon was hanging on to his every word. "Is there more going on?"

"Nope." Before Christian could further question Landon, Ana and Layken came into the room. Christian picked up Layken, kissing her cheek and then doing the same with Liam who was in Ana's arms.

"The best part of my day is seeing the four of you. I think someone slowed all of the clocks at work because it seemed like the day was never going to end. I stayed busy throughout the day. Once I finally got a break and checked the time I was shocked it wasn't later than it was."

"You're home now and can relax.", Ana told him.

"You're so right. I plan to do nothing this evening but relax and spend time with my family."

* * *

Following dinner and laying Liam down, Christian stayed downstairs with Landon and Layken while Ana showered. She threw on a pair of black yoga pants and a gray tee and started downstairs to enjoy the rest of the evening with her family.

"What's going on in here?" Ana crossed her arms and took in the sight of Christian with his hands entwined with Layken's while Layken's black dress shoes rested on the top of Christian's feet.

"We're dancing.", Christian answered in a grin that widened as the soft melody from the stereo continued. Landon sat on the sofa, watching the dancing pair until Ana held her hand out to him.

"How about we show them some real dance moves?", Ana asked her son.

"Dance.", Layken instructed them.

"We're dancing. Whose idea was it for her to wear her dress shoes?"

"Daddy's.", Ladon answered. "He said she needed her best dancing shoes on so he went upstairs and got them while you were in the shower." Christian and Ana continued dancing with their children until sleepiness made an appearance in all of them. They then told the kids it was time to call it a night.

* * *

"Christian, the cost margins between the two suppliers isn't much at all." Ros handed Christian a piece of paper showing the difference in pricing between the lumber companies they were considering for the new collaboration with Murphy Corporation, a local textile company.

"You're right. Both places are promising. Let's think about it some more before making a final decision."

"Ok. I'll see you later then.", Ros said. She gathered her papers and left the office while Christian's phone began ringing.

"Hello.", he answered.

"Christian, I'm on my way to Landon's school.", Ana sighed from the other end. "Principal West said Landon was involved in some sort of an altercation but didn't give any more details. Gail's watching Layken and Liam."

"I'm on my way."

"You don't have to come. I was just calling to let you know what was going on. I can call when I have more details."

"Ana, I'm going to be there. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Ana was waiting on Christian in the parking lot of the school when he arrived. A few snow flurries started to fall as he walked up to her. She stood on her toes and greeted him with a quick kiss. The pair began walking into the building and towards the office.

"Landon.", Ana said once she saw him sitting in a chair outside the office. Another boy who Ana had seen a few times during school events was sitting in the chair next to Landon.

"I'm sorry.", Landon told his parents. "I didn't mean to get into trouble."

"What happened?", Christian asked in a soft voice.

"Perhaps we should step into my office and discuss it.", George West, the school's principal said. Beside him stood Tammy Fenmore, Landon's teacher. The group stepped into the office and took their seats while Landon stared towards the door.

"You said Landon was in an altercation."

"Yes. Since the weather is dreary we decided to have recess in the gymnasium. I was sitting on one of the benches when I heard yelling from both Landon and another boy, Mason Yates.", Ms. Fenmore said

"Is that him in the chair outside?", Ana asked.

"No. Drew Wilson. He's my best friend.", Landon answered through tears. Christian scooted his chair closer to Landon's.

"Mason's already been dealt with.", Principal West added.

"What cause the altercation?", Christian asked, his eyes searching for answers.

"Mason was making fun of Drew, and I told him to stop. He didn't listen so I told him again.", Landon replied. "He shoved me and then pushed me on to the floor." Landon raised up his arm and showed a bandage on his elbow. "This happened, but it doesn't hurt."

"Why was Mason making fun of Drew?"

"He always does. I used to not say anything, but today I decided to say something."

"Is bullying allowed in this school?" Christian's tone had changed into his assertive CEO voice. "Is that something you allow to happen?"

"Mr. Grey, as much as we'd like to know every single thing that was going on in this school, we can't. There are too many kids and not enough adults. Besides, the kids often keep to themselves, not letting anyone know what's going on.", Principal West said.

"That may be true, but I believe more can be done.", Ana countered. "You should keep your eyes and ears a little more open."

"Since the school day is almost over, Landon can go ahead and go home.", Ms. Fenmore smiled. Christian, Ana, and Landon stood and left the office without saying another word. Landon stopped his parents and motioned towards Drew.

"I want to say goodbye to Drew."

"Ok." Christian and Ana stood against the wall and watched as Landon said something that made Drew smile. Several minutes later, Landon rejoined his parents. "Landon, do you want to talk more about what happened?"

"Drew's dad lost his job, and now Drew doesn't have a lot."

"Where's Drew's mom?", Ana asked.

"He doesn't know. She left when he was a baby. His dad is his mom too." Ana recalled Landon wanting to take two different sandwiches and an extra cookie for lunch.

"Landon, was one of your sandwiches for Drew?" He wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.

"Drew likes turkey sandwiches."

"And the question about hiring?", Christian asked. "It was for Drew's dad?"

"Yeah. His dad's doing the best he can, but it's hard. I don't like seeing Drew so sad. I told him before we left that I would never stop being his friend. I want to help him." The one thing Christian hated was seeing people struggle in life.

"Don't worry son. We're going to help."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"When I went upstairs to check on Liam, we had two kids in here, and now we have none. I'm kind of afraid to ask, but where are Landon and Layken?", Ana asked Christian who had been secretive since arriving home from work.

"Remember how I told Landon the other day that he and Layken could go with me to the gym Saturday morning?"

"Yeah. Landon said he wants to work on his muscles.", Ana giggled. "He plans on wearing his tee-shirt that says **I'm a Muscle Man**."

"I made a pit stop on the way home and picked him up a pair of sweat pants to go with his shirt. I also started wondering what Layken was going to wear."

"I don't think it matters to her.", Ana replied, noticing Christian's eyes looking towards his study. "Why do you keep looking towards the study?"

"We might as well show you. Landon, you guys can come out now." Ana scooted closer to the edge of her seat while watching Landon and Layken walk out of the study. "Landon said he's going to wear sweats to the gym, but I wasn't sure about Layken so I picked her up something on the way home." Ana's eyes widened at Layken's attire which consisted of a black body suit, neon green leggings, blue leg warmers, and a white sweatshirt. The outfit was topped off with a pink sweatband and oversized white sunglasses.

"Doesn't she look adorbs?", Landon asked Ana.

"Very much. Are you looking forward to going with Daddy?"

"Um..."

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if Drew can come over Friday and spend the night. We won't make a lot of noise, I promise." Landon looked up at Christian and saw the solemn look Christian was wearing. Christian and Ana had been proud of Landon for sticking up for his best friend who had been the victim of bullying at school. They were still angry at the school for turning a blind eye to the harassment but wanted to help Drew and his father.

"I suppose he can stay over, but his father has to agree to it first. I've got an idea, why don't you ask Drew if he and his father would like to join us for dinner Friday night? We can get to know each other before your sleep over."

"Ok. I'm going to see if Ms. Gail needs any help in the kitchen. Laters."

"Laters.", Christian said while Layken climbed on to the sofa with him and Ana. "If Drew stays over Friday night, I can see if he wants to tag along to the gym as well."

"You can, but more than likely if Drew stays over, he and Landon will be half the night, meaning they'll sleep late Saturday morning."

"Point well made Mrs. Grey. Maybe I should build a gym here. We can turn part of the basement into one. It'll save me the time from having to go to the gym at GEH. Friday night's dinner will give us a chance to learn more about Drew and his dad Nathan. I also want to offer him a job in the IT department at work. According to his background, he's a computer genius who unfortunately lost his last job when the company downsized."

* * *

"Ana, things are going smoothly here. We haven't had any problems whatsoever." Ana finished tying Layken's shoe while listening to Hannah's work update over the phone.

"Have you heard anything from Dana Preston about the progress on her manuscript?" Dana Preston was an author of adult contemporary romance who had been signed by the publishing company a few months prior.

"She sent an email yesterday and said she's almost fifty percent finished with the second draft. She's hoping to have it done and to you by the time you get back from maternity leave."

"Which is three weeks away.", Ana replied "I'm looking forward to it and also dreading it."

"Uh oh." Ana's eyes flashed to Layken who had dropped her sippy cup on the floor. Luckily the secure top prevented it from spilling on to the floor.

"It sounds like you're needed so I'm going to let you go. If anything drastic happens which I don't it will, I'll call you.", Hannah giggled.

"Ok. Thanks Hannah." Ana pressed end on the call and picked up Layken's cup. "It's ok baby girl. It didn't spill, but let's go and wash the top off." Layken followed Ana into the kitchen where Gail was seated at the bar.

"I'm making a shopping list. Is there anything in particular that I should pick up for the boys' sleepover?", Gail asked. Drew's father had agreed to the dinner and sleep over which was taking place that evening at the Grey house.

"Landon said Drew likes gummy worms. Oh and strawberry ice cream.", Ana answered after washing off Layken's cup. "Good as new." Layken grinned and took the cup.

"Landon's pretty excited about the sleep over, huh?", Gail asked.

"He's been talking about it almost non-stop since Christian and I agreed to it." A pang shot through Ana's heart at the same time her mind was clouded with the vision of Landon upset over Drew's struggles. "I'm thinking of going to the next school board meeting. Principal West said the school does the best they can with the bullying issue, but I don't believe it. More can and needs to be done."

"I feel terrible for the kids who have to suffer from it. They go to school with the intention of learning and bettering themselves but end up being emotionally and/or physically hurt."

"It's completely uncalled for.", Ana murmured.

* * *

"They're here!", Landon exclaimed from the living room window. "Daddy, they're here!" Christian chuckled and opened the door to find Drew and his father walking up the pathway to the house. "Drew!"

"Landon, hi", Drew shouted back. Nathan Wilson shyly smiled as Landon held the door open for the guests.

"Daddy, this is my best friend Drew and his dad..Uh, Drew, what's your dad's name?"

"I'm Nathan."

"It's nice to meet you Drew and Nathan. I'm Christian, Landon's dad.", Christian said. "Drew, you can set your sleeping bag and backpack down." Drew grinned and placed his Transformers sleeping bag and matching backpack down on the floor as Ana came downstairs with Liam in her arms and Layken at her side. "Here's the rest of the family. This is my wife Ana, our daughter Layken, and son Liam."

"Layken likes causing trouble.", Landon told Drew. Hearing her name, Layken glanced at her brother with a smile. "See. She's thinking of things to get into you. Aren't you Layken?"

"Yeah.", she giggled.

"I told you. Why don't we go and play in my room before dinner?"

"Can we?", Drew asked the adults.

"Sure. We'll call you when dinner's ready.", Ana answered. Landon and Drew ran out of the room, leaving a pouting Layken behind. She started towards the stairs but came to a halt when Landon came back into the room.

"You can come too if you don't make a mess."

"O-tay." Landon then led his sister up the stairs.

"Please have a seat.", Christian told Nathan.

"I should get going.", Nathan shrugged.

"We'd like you to join us for dinner.", Ana added. "The dinner invitation was for both you and Drew."

"I don't want to impose."

"You're not." Nathan swayed back and forth for a few seconds until he gave in and sat down in one of the arm chairs.

"Well thank you. I was in the middle of a job interview the other day when the school incident happened. By the time I got there you had already picked up Landon so I didn't get a chance to talk with you. Drew's very fortunate to have Landon as a friend."

"What happened at the school shouldn't have happened. The administrators need to learn how wake up and start doing their jobs."

"I hate that Drew's suffering from my mess.", Nathan muttered.

"Losing your job doesn't mean your life is a mess.", Christian said as Nathan's eyes met his. "Landon told us. I'm sorry."

"Drew told me that Landon knew and has been bringing him food for lunch. I pack him a lunch but it's not the best or most. I told myself when Drew was born that I was going to give him the best life possible, but look at me. I'm failing. It seems our lives have been a constant roller coaster. Things will be going well for us and then suddenly everything that can go wrong does."

"Life isn't perfect."

"You're telling me.", Nathan sighed. "It all started with Drew's mom, Shannon. She and I were married for only a few weeks when she found out she was pregnant. The pregnancy was a surprise, but I was thrilled. Shannon, not so much. She feared being a mom would hold her back from doing things in life. I sat her down one morning and assured her that she could be a mother and accomplish great things. would be a wonderful mother who wasn't alone. I was going to be right by her side. She got over her doubts or so I thought. After Drew was born, she showed very little emotion. One day when Drew was two, I got a call at work from our neighbor who had Drew. Shannon had knocked on her door and just handed him to her before walking away. She didn't answer the question of where she was going. She simply got in the car and left. A month later, she called and said that she was sorry for abandoning us. I wasn't concerned about me. It was my son who I was worried about. She had taken the month to see where her head was at. You want to know the conclusion she came to?"

"I think I know.", Christian replied.

"She had a life she wanted to live and being a mom was preventing that. I hung up and haven't heard from her since."

"I'm sorry that happened.", Ana told him. "But Drew has you and from just hearing you and seeing you look at him, I can tell you love him very much."

"I do. He's what keeps me going. When I lost my job, I was miserable but knew I couldn't have a pity party. I've got a son who needs me. I go to job interviews thinking each one is going to be the one to get us back on track. So far, nothing has panned out. I'm either too qualified or not qualified enough."

"Perhaps I can help you.", Christian said. "You have exemplary computer skills."

"How did know that?", Nathan asked.

"I ran a check. I'm sure that freaks you out, but I wanted to help you and your son and needed to know more about you."

"So you looked into my life?"

"Not all of it. I only checked into your work experience so I could I could know the type of job you're best at. I'd like to hire you for a position in the IT department at my company."

"I appreciate you wanting to help, but I don't want a hand out."

"It's not a hand out. It's helping. There were already a few vacant spots that hadn't been filled because no one qualified enough had been found. You have what it takes. You don't have to give me an answer now. In fact, why don't you stop by my office on Monday for a more detailed discussion?" Nathan rubbed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"All right. I'll be there Monday."

"Are you guys becoming friends?", Drew asked from the top of the stairs. Christian and Ana looked at each other and then at Nathan who smiled back at them.

"We're getting there.", Christian answered.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Is Drew's dad going to be working on the same floor as you?", Landon asked Christian who was finishing his cup of coffee.

"He's going to be on the floor below me, but I'll see him around the office. I'm actually going to have lunch with him today." Even though Nathan Wilson had been reluctant with taking a job he initially saw as a handout, he had agreed to work for Christian following his interview.

"Let's try this again, ok?", Ana told Layken after leading her into the kitchen and placing her in her high chair. Layken's blue eyes went to the spoon on her tray. "Layken, don't pick up the spoon and sling oatmeal again." This was going to be the second attempt at feeding her breakfast since the first time resulted in Layken grabbing the spoon and trying to throw oatmeal at Landon. Unfortunately, she had failed and most of the oatmeal had fallen on her.

"Was fun." Layken pouted her lips and stole a glance at Christian who was trying to not laugh. "Was fun Dada."

"Layken, stop using your adorbness on Daddy.", Landon told her. "I'm finished with my breakfast. Can I watch some cartoons before it's time to leave for school?"

"All right but be ready when it's time to go.", Ana replied. Landon gave her a thumbs up and ran into the living room. "The school board meeting starts at seven tonight, and I plan on getting there early to get a good seat." True to her word, Ana planned to attend the school board meeting to address the bullying taking place in the schools.

"You sound all bad a..." Ana arched her brow at Christian who stopped himself from cursing in front of Layken. "You sound tough. I like it.", he grinned.

"I'm sure many of the faculty members are going to be surprised when they see sweet Ana Grey's sharpened claws. Are you still planning on going with me?"

"I wouldn't miss it."

* * *

"How's your first day so far?", Christian asked Nathan Wilson during their lunch at The Capital Grille. Nathan took a bite of his baked potato and smiled.

"It's going well. I was nervous when I first got there. I felt like a kid on his first day in a new school, but everyone has been nice and helpful. I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity. I promise to prove day in and day out that I'm worthy of it."

"I'm fully confidant that you'll prove yourself. As I said during your interview, you're one of the most talented computer techs I've ever met."

"Drew helped me pick out my tie this morning.", Nathan said as he glanced at the navy blue tie. "He picked it up and said he had a good feeling about this tie, like it was going to become my lucky tie."

"Drew's a great kid. You've done a wonderful job with raising him."

"I've tried to do my best. Drew's what keeps me going. Everything I do is for him. He's my life."

"Christian.", a female voice said from behind Nathan. Christian looked up and saw Hannah with a take out bag.

"Hannah, hi." Christian was about to introduce Hannah to Nathan when he noticed Nathan's eyes widen.

"Hannah Lewis?", Nathan murmured. "Wow. It's been a while, but you haven't changed a bit."

"Hi Nathan.", Hannah smiled. "It has indeed been a long time. I think the last time I saw you was at a graduation party."

"You two know each other?", Christian asked, waving his hands between Hannah and Nathan.

"Nathan and I went to high school together. How do you guys know each other?"

"I just started working at GEH.", Nathan answered with a teeth baring grin.

"Really? It's a small world then because I'm Ana's assistant at Grey Publishing." An awkwardness filled the air around the three. It was only broken when Hannah looked at the bag in her hand. "Laura's watching the office while I pick up our lunch so I should get back. It's good seeing you again Nathan."

"It's good seeing you again too."

"Ok, um, well...I should get back." Spinning on her heels, Hannah almost bumped into a waiter. "I'm so sorry.", she stammered. "Have a good rest of the day Nathan and Christian."

"It really is a small world.", Nathan said after Hannah had left. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I had the biggest crush on her. She was dating the captain of the football team though. They broke up around graduation, but my meeting Shannon changed things."

"Ana and I knew each other when we were younger. We drifted apart but found our way back to each other. Second chances can be pretty damn amazing."

* * *

"Before we end tonight's meeting, we're going to open the floor. Is there anyone here who would like to speak?", Kurt Dawson, the director of schools, said. Christian squeezed Ana's hand as she stood from her seat in the front row. "Yes?"

"I'd like to address the board.", Ana replied.

"All right. You have the floor." Ana had assumed she would be speaking from her seat, not at the podium he motioned to. She drew a deep breath and made her way to the front of the room.

"Thank you. I'm Anastasia Grey, and I'd like to discuss an issue which unfortunately is only becoming worse in our schools. I'm talking about bullying." In the corner of Ana's eye, she saw Principal West who appeared to be looking everywhere but at her. "Each morning,we get our children up and ready for school with hopes they'll be instilled with lessons and values to prepare them for the future. Having them harassed and ridiculed isn't part of the plan. I was told the schools are doing all they can, but I refuse to believe that."

"Mrs. Grey, while I understand your concerns about the issue, there simply aren't enough faculty members to watch every single move being made.", one of the board members said.

"I realize that, but I also know the schools have the budget for hiring more faculty and yet they haven't. As I recall, the board voted to raise the budget at the end of the last school term. Where did that money go?" Christian inwardly cheered on Ana who had done her research beforehand.

"We made a few repairs to the middle school and have set aside the rest for unexpected occurences.", Mr. Dawson answered.

"And also built new faculty lounges in each of the schools. Oh,and let's not forget the new Lexus you're driving Mr. Dawson. Why were you provided with a luxury vehicle when the money could have spent on keeping our children free from bullying?"

"The provision of a vehicle is in the contract.", another member of the board stated.

"Maybe the contract needs to be amended.", Ana countered. "Moving on, I'd like to suggest an anti-bullying program in the schools in which the kids can learn how to deal with the bullies and maybe wake up some of those who are doing the harassing."

"And where would that money come from?", Mr. Dawson asked. "We're not magicians who can make money magically appear." The harshness in his voice sent Christian to his feet.

"The money for the program would come from me.", Christian said.

"And you are?"

"Christian Grey, I'm Ana's husband. I'd like to donate the money needed for the program. The only stipulation would be that I intend to help monitor it and make sure the money fully goes towards it." A few of the members who recognized Christian began whispering to each other. One of the men murmured something to the director who nodded.

"The board would need to written proposal for this program."

"I just so happen to have the papers with me." Christian picked up and waved the folder he had in his lap. He walked to the front and handed the Mr. Dawson the folder. "I've got copies for each of you."

"This has been an interesting development. Since it's getting late, why don't we have a special meeting on Thursday night at seven. By the then all the board members will have had a chance to look over the ideas for the program, and then we can hopefully put it to a vote. Would that work for you Mr. and Mrs. Grey?"

"It does.", Ana replied.

"Well then, thank you everyone for being here this evening."

* * *

"How did it go?", Gail asked after Christian and Ana arrived home. Christian eased to the recliner and took Liam out of her arms.

"You should have seen Ana. She was Mama Bear in front of the board. Liam, Mommy meant business."

"I simply told them how I felt and how I thought they needed to fix things.", Ana shrugged. "I used to bite my tongue and not express myself, but that was before I met you and became a mom. How were the kids tonight?"

"Layken threw a little tantrum when it was time for bed, but Landon calmed her down.", Gail answered. "Although she likes giving him a hard time, she worships him."

"What did he say to get her calm?", Christian asked.

"Something about you buying her a toy if she went to sleep."

"Sounds about right.", Ana giggled.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Want?", Layken's tiny voice asked while offering Hannah the cookie in her hand. Hannah glanced at Ana who was shocked that Layken was willing to part with the cookie she had thrown a fit for.

"That's sweet of you Layken, but why don't you keep it?" Layken crinkled her nose and proceeded to take a bite of the cookie. "She didn't argue with me." Layken scurried back to her toys on the other side of the room. "What do you think so far?", Hannah nodded at the Dana Preston's manuscript which Ana was reading. Although the author had initially thought it wouldn't be finished until Ana's return from maternity leave, she was able to get it finished early.

"It's very...steamy.", Ana blushed. "And sweet. For this to be her first book, it's got a lot of potential. Did you read it?"

"I did, and I really enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for romance." Ana grinned at Hannah and waited for her to address what she felt was the elephant in the room. "Um...Did Christian mention seeing me the other day at Capital Grille?"

"He did. He also said you and Nathan Wilson went to high school together."

"Yeah. Gosh, he still looks the same.", Hannah sighed. "Out of curiosity, what do you know about him?"

"He's a single dad to his son Drew who's best friends with Landon. Christian said he's a whiz with computers and is doing well so far at GEH." Layken began banging her sippy cup on the floor. "Layken, don't."

"Tay.", she grinned.

"Where is Drew's mom?" Hannah immediately regretted asking the question as soon as it was out of her mouth. "Never mind. It's none of my business. I have no right in asking."

"She left when Drew was two. Nathan's been raising him on his own, and from what I've seen and heard, he's done a great job. Now is my turn to be curious. Could you possibly be interested in Nathan?" Hannah fidgeted in her seat, knotting her fingers together. Her demeanor was all Ana needed for confirmation. "You are.", Ana smirked.

"In school I thought he was sweet and cute, but I was dating this guy, Grant. He was my first real boyfriend who I stayed with even after the spark was gone. I think it was because I liked the idea of being in a relationship. Seeing Nathan the other day made me feel kind of like Maddie does in Dana's book."

"I've got some insider information. Nathan told Christian that he had a crush on you in high school but didn't do anything since you had a boyfriend. It seems he also felt a spark the other day. I'm going to check on Liam while you think about what I just I told you."

* * *

"I need some more of the blue.", Drew said while leaning across the kitchen table for the blue play dough. After school, he had joined Landon at the Grey house so he and Landon could work on homework and play.

"Drew, your bird is going to look awesome.", Landon complimented his best friend. In the seat across from Landon was Sawyer who was also working with the play dough. "What are you making Sawyer?"

"A dog. It's done." Sawyer proudly held up his green and yellow glob of play dough. "Good, huh?"

"Are you sure it's a dog?", Drew asked with his head tilted.

"I'm sure."

"If you say so.", Landon laughed as Christian came into the kitchen. "Daddy! How was work?"

"It was good." Christian bent down and placed a delicate kiss on the top of Landon's head and then turned to Drew. "Hi Drew."

"Hi Mr. Grey. Landon and I finished our homework early so Mrs. Grey said we could play. We've been making things out of play dough. I made a bird. Landon made a car. Sawyer made a...um...dog." Christian narrowed his eyes at Sawyer's creation.

"What kind of a dog is it?"

"I don't know exactly, but it's a dog.", Sawyer affirmed.

"If you say so." Landon and Drew laughed at Christian repeating Landon's earlier words.

"How's the sculpting going?", Ana asked when she walked through the kitchen's swinging door. Liam was strapped to her chest in the baby Bjorn while Layken was at her side. Christian put a halt to his laughter long enough to kiss her, Layken, and Liam. "Hi."

"Hey.", Christian smiled. His eyes landed on the counter where a large crock pot was placed. "Is dinner in there?"

"We're having slow cooked honey mustard chicken. It's one of Mia's recipes."

"Who's Mia?", Drew asked.

"Mia's my aunt and my dad's sister. She likes to shop and talk."

"Landon, your aunt does more than shopping and talking.", Ana said. "She also has her catering business."

"My dad has a brother too. Uncle Elliot. He's a grown up but acts like a kid." Landon noticed Ana's eyes on him. "Oh and he does builds things too."

"Drew, are you going to be joining us for dinner?", Christian asked. He picked up Layken who began pulling on his tie.

"Landon asked me to have dinner here, but my dad's taking me out to dinner. He wants to celebrate his new job. Thank you for helping my dad. He's been smiling a lot lately. I missed that.", Drew replied.

"Your dad's a great guy."

"Hannah stopped by today to drop off a manuscript.", Ana said after she followed Christian to the study. Liam was now in her arms, but Layken had stayed in the kitchen with the others. "We got to talking about dating."

"I hope it was about Hannah dating and not you." Ana rolled her eyes at Christian's joke. "Oh and not Layken either. She's not dating until she's at least thirty, and even then she'll have to deal with me and her brothers tagging along."

"I may have mentioned to Hannah that Nathan had a crush on her in high school."

"You told her? Ana, why would you tell her something I confided in you about?", Christian asked, dropping his pen.

"Whoa. Should I have kept my mouth shut? Maybe. Yet, you started it by telling me what Nathan told you. Maybe you should look in the mirror before you go on your little rant."

"I'm not ranting.", Christina murmured. "I'm sorry. You do have a point in that I also broke Nathan's trust. Liam, Daddy's not upset with Mommy but wants to know what she's up to."

"You said you told Nathan about second chances. I was just helping them out.", Ana shrugged.

"Ana Grey, matchmaker."

"We had a little incident.", Sawyer said from the open door. Beside him stood a grinning Layken who fluttered her long lashes at her parents. "She grabbed some of the play dough and decided to smear it in her hair." Both Christian and Ana gasped when they saw the green play dough on the sides of Layken's head. "I should have been paying more attention to her."

"It's ok.", Ana winced. "She's fast and sneaky. Christian, will you take Liam while I go and get this out?"

"Sure. Come in baby boy." Once Christian had taken Liam, he brought his attention to his daughter. "Layken, why did you put play dough in your hair?"

"Dorbs.", she answered. Christian, Ana, and Sawyer covered their mouths in unison so Layken couldn't see the humor in her using a shortened version of Landon's favorite word.

"You did it because you thought it would make your hair adorbs?"

"Uh-huh."

"It doesn't. Luckily I'll be able to get out.", Ana sighed on her way out of the room with Layken.

Moments later, Christian was on his way to check on Landon and Drew when he heard the chiming of the doorbell. Before he got the door open, he heard laughter on the other side. His mouth curved into a smile when he saw it was Hannah and Nathan. They were too caught up with each other that they didn't realize Christian was standing in front of him until Hannah happened to turn her head.

"Christian, hi. I didn't see you standing there at first.", Hannah said.

"It's fine. Come on in." He moved from the door and watched as Nathan playfully curtsied Hannah.

"I didn't notice until about an hour ago, but I think I left my planner when I was here earlier today. I was sitting on the sofa." Sawyer looked in between the cushions of the sofa and found Hannah's small leather planner. "That would be it. Thank you."

"Where are the boys?", Nathan asked.

"They're in the kitchen making things out of play dough."

"Daddy! You're here! Look what I made!", Drew shouted as he ran into the living room with his play dough contructed bird. "It's a parrot." Nathan admiringly took the bird from his son. "I want you to put it on the shelf in the living room with the other things I've made."

"I'll make sure it's front and center for everyone to see." Nathan saw Drew looking at Hannah. "Drew, this is an old friend of mine, Hannah Lewis. She and I went to high school together."

"You're not old.", Drew murmured to Hannah.

"Why thank you. It's nice to meet you Drew. I work with Landon's mom who told me you and Landon are best friends."

"Yep the bestest."

"Speaking of Ana, where is she?"

"Layken got play dough in her hair so Ana's trying to get it out.", Christian answered while Landon shook his head.

"I have to go, but will you tell Ana I stopped by for my planner?"

"Will do."

"We need to go too. I'm taking Drew to dinner to celebrate my new job. Where do you want to have dinner Drew?", Nathan asked. Drew turned and began whispering to Landon. The adults could hear the names of several restaurants being mentioned.

"McDonald's. I want a mighty kids meal.", Drew replied. "Is that ok Daddy?"

"McDonald's is fine."

* * *

After the guests left the house, Christian saw the trio lingering by Hannah's car briefly. He couldn't predict what was going to happen with Hannah and Nathan, but he saw first hand the chemistry between the two.

"I don't see any more play dough.", Christian said when Ana came downstairs with Layken.

"We would have been down here sooner, but she was wandered into my closet and began playing with my shoes. Where's Drew?"

"Nathan came and picked him up. Coincidentally he got here the same time as Hannah who left her planner here."

"Does Nathan's dad like Hannah?", Landon asked. He and Layken had crawled up on the sofa.

"Why do you ask?"

"Her face was red. It's how Mom looks when you say nice things to her."

"Why don't we go and see if dinner's ready?" Ana felt a subject change was the best thing.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"I've been thinking that it's been a while since Landon and I had a guys day.", Christian said. "He's never been to the Museum of Flight, and that would be a great place for us to go maybe on Saturday."

"He'd like that very much. Of course he loves anything he does with you.", Ana replied before stretching her towards the stairs to see if Landon was coming. "Have you mentioned it to him yet?"

"Not yet. I'm going to when I go upstairs in a few minutes." While Christian and Ana were relaxing in the living room, Landon was upstairs playing in his bedroom until his bedtime. Layken and Liam were both already sound asleep. "Have there been any developments in your match making scheme?"

"I take offense to the words scheme. It's a..." Ana tapped the bottom of her chin while trying to find another word. "Ok, I give up. You can call it a scheme if you'd like. Hannah called this afternoon and told me she and Nathan have been texting and talking on the phone since exchanging numbers when they were both here the other night. She sounded giddy which is good. Oh, I met Sawyer's new girlfriend Abby today."

"I thought he was seeing Maddie. What happened there?", Christian laughed.

"He hasn't been with Maddie in a while. He dated Lena briefly after Maddie, but that didn't work either. Anyway, Abby seems nice. She stopped by and brought him and some of the other security guys cupcakes that she made."

"That was a nice gesture. How about we go upstairs and tuck Landon into bed?" Ana nodded and stood with Christian as they headed upstairs to Landon's room. When they got to his door, they saw he was already in bed with the only light in the room coming from the lamp next to his bed. "How long have you been in bed?"

"Not long. I started getting tired.", Landon yawned. "It's been a long day."

"It has indeed.", Christian said with a laugh as he and Ana sat on each side of Landon. "Saturday might be a long too."

"Why? Do you have to work?"

"No. You and I are going to the Museum of Flight. That's if you want to." Landon's eyes grew while he pushed back his covers and tightly wrapped his arms around Christian. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a yes. I can't wait. They have a lot of things about airplanes and flying. It's going to be a lot of fun. Mom, are you excited?"

"I'm not going. It's just going to be you and your dad having a guys day."

"What about Liam? He's a boy. Is he going to go with us?" Having not mentioned Liam going, Christian glanced at Ana.

"Your brother's going to sit this one out.", Ana replied. "It'll be just you and your dad."

"We haven't had much one on one time lately, and Saturday will be a good day to fix that.", Christian added.

* * *

"Ethan and I are looking for a new house.", Mia told Ana and Kate while helping fold Charlotte and Connor's freshly laundered clothes. "Ours is ok but is getting too small."

"Could it be that you're getting baby fever?", Kate asked. Mia looked at Liam who was watching them from his carrier. "I've seen how you act around all the kids. You've got a sparkle in your eye."

"I'm their aunt so having a sparkle in my eye is a sure thing. Regarding the baby fever question, the answer is no. I love being cool Aunt Mia, but I'm not ready to be Mama Mia." Ana and Kate broke out into laughter. "We just need a house with a larger kitchen to help with my catering."

Layken toddled into the living room from the playroom where she had been with Leslie, Charlotte, and Connor. Leslie was carrying both of the twins in her arms but placed Connor in Kate's arms before sitting down on the sofa.

"Did you guys have fun playing?", Ana asked the kids.

"I did.", Layken replied with a grin.

"They played well together and shared.", Leslie said.

"Mom's watching the twins on Saturday while Elliot and I go to a pottery class. Elliot wasn't on board with it at first but finally agreed. It's something a way to spend time together and make things."

"I'm looking forward to having the day with my sweet grandchildren. Ana, I'm going to keep Charlotte and Connor at my house. Why don't you bring the kids by to play?"

"I might bring Layken and Liam, but Christian's taking Landon to the Museum of Flight for some father/son time."

"Me not go.", Layken pouted.

"It's just going to be Daddy and Landon. You'll have a nice day with Mommy and Liam. We can go over to Ms. Leslie's and spend time with your cousins. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Uh-huh."

"Since everyone's talking about their weekend plans, I might as well tell mine. Ethan and I are going to spend the entire weekend doing nothing except chores and errands. He's going with me to do the grocery shopping, and then we're going to clean house together. Boring, huh?"

"It sounds like a good time.", Kate laughed. "You're spending it together, and that's what matters."

* * *

"This place looks cool!", Landon shouted while Taylor parked the SUV at the museum. "I bet the inside is even better."

"I bet it is too.", Christian said.

"Daddy, have you been here before?"

"This is going to be my first time here too, but Mr. Taylor has been here a few times with Sophie. He said they always have fun here." Taylor unbuckled his seat belt and turned to Landon with a nod.

"You're going to have a wonderful day.", Taylor told Landon.

The three of them got out of the SUV and walked towards the building. Landon, with his hand in Christian's, strided with joy through the doors. Christian considered having a tour guide but decided against it after Taylor offered to be the unofficial guide.

"This exhibit is called Space: Exploring the Final Frontier." In front of them were a series of screens and keyboards. "This is a replica of Mission Control. It's where the people of NASA keep an eye on the astronauts. They help them when they lift off, in space, and when they land."

"Wow. This is awesome. What's that?" Landon pointed to a large round metal and glass object a few feet away.

"Whatever it is looks pretty impressive.", Christian said, looking through a window on the object. He noticed a sign next to the display. "This is a full size replica of the International Space Station's Destiny Research Lab."

"It's where do the experiments in space.", Taylor smiled.

"It's small. I wouldn't be able to take many toys with me to space.", Landon murmured. "What's next?" Taylor looked forward where more exhibits and attraction awaited.

"Let's go straight ahead." They walked a short distance before finding a giant blue hot air balloon. A series of symbols covered the sides. "This is neat. According to this plague, this is a 1/10 scale model of the world's first practical hot air balloon. It was created by French brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. The first flight took place in 1783 in the western outskirts of France."

"That was a long time ago. I bet they spent a lot of time working on it."

"I'm sure they did.", Christian replied. Taylor led them further down the lobby until they came to a large mural with aerial imagery. "The sign says this is the Kids Flight Zone. Let's go in." One of the first things Landon saw was a hang glider. "Landon, you can get in this and act like you're flying it. Do you want to?"

"Um...yeah.", he scoffed. "Will you take a picture of me and send it to Mom but make sure you tell her it's not real."

"I will." Christian and Taylor helped Landon get strapped into the simulator where he grabbed the controllers. He gave them a thumbs up and pushed the button to begin while Christian started taking photos of the moment. "How do you feel?"

"I'm flying. Weee!" Christian sent three of the photos to Ana, knowing that she would enjoy seeing them. Once Landon's flight was over, he slowly got off the glider. "I had fun on that." They continued looking at the exhibits a while longer before moving on to an area where the walls were glass and the vaulted ceilings had various airplanes hanging from it.

"This is one of Sophie's favorite parts of the museum. There are airplanes from years and years ago and some more recent ones."

"Some of them are huge but some are tiny." When Christian heard his phone ringing, he didn't even have to look to see who it was. He knew it was Ana calling about the photos.

"Hey baby. Did you like the photos?", he asked Ana.

"I loved them.", she squealed. "He was so cute in that glider, but most of all, he looked like he was having a lot of fun."

"Oh he's having a blast. Are you still at Leslie's?"

"We are. I'm watching the kids while she makes sandwiches for us. I've got some news for you. Nathan and Hannah are going on a date."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She called a few minutes ago. He told her that he had discussed his dating with Drew who was thrilled for his dad. Nathan's mother is going to watch Drew while they go out tonight. I've got a good feeling about it.", she giggled.

"Ana, don't start planning their wedding just yet. I agree that both Hannah and Nathan are due for happiness, but you shouldn't get too carried away."

"I know. I just...I want everyone to have what we have."

* * *

"Daddy, today was the best day ever!", Landon said once they arrived home. He headed to the living room where Ana was sitting on the sofa with Layken in her lap. Layken started squirming to get down as soon as she saw Landon.

"Lan Lan." Layken crawled out of Ana's lap and ran to her brother with her arms out.

"Hey Layken. I missed you." The two siblings hugged each other as Christian leaned against the door frame, watching and smiling at the love between Landon and Layken.

"Missed you.", Layken told Landon. "I played wif babies."

"Did you have a lot of fun?"

"Uh-huh. They cried."

"Towards the end of our visit the twins were getting sleepy. Layken fell asleep on the way home but woke up the minute we got to the door. Liam, however, was exhausted and is sleeping upstairs.", Ana said with her eyes on the bag in Christian's hand. "What's in the bag?"

"Some souvenirs. Landon and I thought since you, Layken, and Liam didn't go we would bring you something back.", Christian answered. He opened the bag and pulled out yet another bag which he handed to Landon.

"This is my junior astronaut flight suit." The suit was orange with zipper pockets and patches including one with the word commander. He also showed a padded helmet. "Isn't it neat?"

"Wow. You're going to be ready now."

"Mine.", Layken muttered.

"I have yours right here.", Christian laughed while producing a smaller version of Landon's suit. "Ta da."

"Dorbs. Tank you."

"I got Liam a onesie with **Future Pilot **on the front and a little baby pilot's hat. This is yours Mrs. Grey." Christian placed a blue pilot's hat on top of Ana's head and then pinned a pair of wings on to her black sweater.

"Thank you. Landon, I take it you had fun today."

"It was awesome Mom. Thanks Daddy for taking me."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Do you hear that?", Ana asked Christian while she stood in front of the bed. He looked in all directions to try to determine what she meant. "You don't hear it?"

"I don't hear anything." She smirked and slowly untied the sash to her white silk robe. "Am I supposed to hear something?"

"Only my need for you. Landon and Layken are in their rooms, and Liam's spending his second night in the nursery. Only the two of us are awake. We should take advantage of it. Don't you agree?" The robe fell to the fall, allowing Christian to see the curves of Ana's naked body. She had gotten her six-week green light three days before and had the ParaGard IUD inserted instead of her usual shot. Now all she was wanted was to make up for lost time. Christian made haste of his boxers, tossing them to the floor as Ana prowled towards the bed. He raised up on his knees and pulled her on to the bed.

"You're so beautiful. How did I get so lucky?", he whispered.

"We bot got lucky." Ana's hands went around the nape of Christian's neck, bringing their bare bodies against each other and their lips into a fiery kiss. Ana, spurred on by the heat between their bodies, pushed Christian on to his back. "Now you're about to get even luckier.", she whispered before straddling him. Her lips worked their way up his chest and back to his lips. She slid down his body and positioned herself over his throbbing cock.

"Are you for ready for me baby?"

"Always.", she answered with him thrusting inside her. "Fuck Christian." Both of their movements were slow at first, helping to get back into the routine. Each thrust was a little harder than the previous. Christian massaged Ana's breasts while she bounced up and down on top of him. She tossed her hair back and took Christian in as deep as possible, allowing him to hit all the right spots. The glow from the bedside lamp highlighted the small beads of sweat that had formed on Christian's forehead. Ana grinned and leaned as close as she could, licking the sweat away. She soon felt her release approaching.

"Come for me baby.", he murmured. Moments later, Ana's orgasm hit. Christian's thrusts continued until he also found his release. The sound of Liam's cries over the baby monitor brought them back to reality. "Right on cue."

* * *

"Nathan, hey.", Christian greeted Nathan who was sitting on the sofa outside Christian's office.

"Hi. Barney finished up the monthly IT reports and was going to bring them to you, but I volunteered to deliver them while I was on my break." Christian took the messages Andrea handed him and then opened his office door, motioning for Nathan to follow. "I'm sure you're busy so I'll be on my way."

"I've got some time. Have a seat." Nathan smiled and sat down in one of the office's chairs as Christian took his seat behind the desk. "How are things in IT?"

"Still going well. I like my job more and more every day."

"Good. Barney said you're doing an excellent job."

"He's been wonderful and has enlightened me on some of his computer skills. Did you know he actually built his own computer when he was a senior in high school? He's working on a robot at the moment."

"I better not let Landon hear about that. He loves toy robots. How's Drew?", Christian asked.

"With things calming down at school, he's doing better. I'm appreciative of the steps you and Ana took with the bully prevention program. It's sad how kids act toward one another."

"I know. I've got an inkling the program is going to be a success and make the schools a better place. I've heard rumblings that Ken Dawson might be resigning from his director of schools position."

"Really? Maybe a change a leadership is what the system needs."

"They also need to rethink certain aspects of the director's contract.", Christian sighed. "Especially the provision of a Lexus. How does having a luxury car or any car for that matter help our kids in their learning? It doesn't. What infuriates me is he pretty much shrugged it off."

"If the guy doesn't have the interest of the kids at heart, he needs to step aside for someone who does care.", Nathan added. "Drew's the greatest thing in my life, and I want the best for him." Continuing to listen to Nathan, Christian sensed there was more Nathan wanted to discuss. "Can we talk off the record, on a level other than boss and employee?"

"Of course we can. What do you want to talk about?"

"I have friends but not as many as I used to. Some of my friends didn't understand how I couldn't go out with them whenever they wanted. I've got a son who needs me. Leaving him at the last minute so I can play pool isn't something I can do."

"You have priorities. I used to go out a lot more before getting married and having kids, but that changed. Still, it's important to have some you time."

"I happened to do that such thing last Saturday. I went out on a date with Hannah. It was the first date I've been on since before I was married to Shannon."

"I've got a confession. I already knew about your date with Hannah. I don't know details. I was just aware there had been a date. Ana talked to Hannah who told her. According to Ana, Hannah was very excited about it. How did it go?"

"Both of us were visibly nervous at first, but we got over it and had a nice dinner. We talked and talked even after our meal was over. Afterwards, we drove around for a while and talked some more. Then I took her home. I wanted to kiss her goodnight but didn't want to push my luck so I ended up kissing her on the cheek. I felt sparks just from that."

"I'm glad to hear the date went well. What does Drew think about you dating Hannah?"

"He likes the idea. Before I asked her out, I asked him if he'd be ok with it. He said, "Daddy, I want you to be happy so go for it."

"Just like you want the best for him, he wants the same for you.", Christian said as Nathan stood.

"My break is almost over, and I should get back. Thank you for this. As I said, I don't have many friends, and the few I have don't understand."

"I'd like to think of us as friends. Whenever you want to talk or whatever, don't hesitate."

"Thanks."

* * *

"I understand you said you've got things under control, but I can come and help." Ana was in the middle of a phone conversation with Ray who had called to tell her that Carla was in bed with a cold. With the call on speaker, she picked up Liam who was whimpering in his crib.

"Annie, you've got three kids and a husband who need you. Your mom's in good hands with me. Her temperature was down earlier, and she's been getting plenty of rest."

"I worry about the two of you."

"I know you do, but you shouldn't worry so much." Since Carla's heart problems the previous year, Ana found herself worrying more about her parents. "I know where your head is at. Don't go there. Your mother's last cardiologist appointment went amazing. Her heart is in perfect condition. Is that Liam I hear?"

"Yeah. I think he wants to see what his brother and sister are up to. They were in Landon's room when I last checked, but it's a little too quiet. Usually by now Landon's yelling at Layken who's getting into something."

"How about I let you go? I need to see if your mom needs some more juice anyway."

"All right Dad. Tell Mom I love her and hope she feels better soon. Remember I'm here if you need me. I love you."

"We love you too."

Ana leaned down to the phone and ended the call as Liam moved around in her arms. She stepped out of the nursery and went to Landon's room where he was sitting in the floor with a row of car. Her eyes roamed the bedroom to see if Layken was hiding.

"Landon, where's Layken?" He put down the car in his hand and looked around the room just as Ana had done.

"She was in here a minute ago.", he answered with a shrug. "Have you looked in her room?"

"Not yet. Hopefully she's in there." Ana then went to Layken's bedroom but found no sign of her. She mentally told herself that Layken might be downstairs with Gail. Rushing out of the room, Ana heard a loud thump just before getting to the stairs. She wasn't sure what the noise was but knew it was coming from the master bedroom. She noticed the door which had been closed earlier was now open. Tiptoeing in the room, she was relieved to find Layken standing by the closet. "Baby girl, what are you doing in here?" She then noticed several pairs of shoes scattered in the floor. "Have you been snooping?"

"I dorbs Mama.", Layken replied, pointing to the heels on her feet.

"Did you find her?", Landon asked on his way into the room. "Yep. You found her. I think she needs a necklace with a bell on it so we can keep up with her."

"You might be on to something there.", Ana giggled. "I've got an idea. Grandma Carla has a cold, but a get well card might help her feel a little better. How about you two go and make one?"

"You want Layken to help me?"

"Yes. You can make one big card together or you can help her make her own. Don't you think your grandma would like that?"

"It'll be good for her. Come on Layken. We're going to make a card, but you can't write on yourself or throw markers. Ok?"

"O-tay." She took Landon's hand and went back to his room with him while Ana observed the shoes.

"Why are you staring at the floor?", Christian asked. He stood in the doorway with a smirk as Ana stuck her tongue out. He finally saw the shoes on the floor. "This looks like the work of Layken."

"Ding ding. You're correct." Ana moved to Christian, welcoming him home with a kiss. "She's helping Landon make a get well card for my mom. My dad called and said she has a cold. Naturally, I'm worried. I even offered to go there."

"And he turned you down."

"He had a point. I'm needed here with the kids and you. Besides, he said she's a little better than she was yesterday."

"This cold weather isn't helping things. I'm going to go and see how the card making is going."

"Make sure the markers are going on the paper and not on clothes or skin.", Ana said.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Mom, are you excited about going back to work today?", Landon asked Ana. She was gearing up for her first day back from maternity leave. Ana had found it difficult going back following Layken's birth, but her anxiety was a little higher the second time around. She was going to be leaving two kids instead of one.

"A little.", Ana replied, meeting Christian's knowing eyes. She looked down at Layken who had already finished her breakfast. "Be good for Miss Gail today, ok?"

"I help?" One of Layken's favorite things to besides playing was "helping" Gail around the house. The previous day Gail had given Layken a feather duster which she used briefly on the coffee table before turning it on Landon.

"You can help me.", Gail replied while pouring coffee into Taylor's travel mug.

"Baby help?" Layken pointed to Liam who was taking a bottle from Christian's arms.

"The baby can't help, but he can watch from his seat."

"Layken, while you're cleaning, you can clean my room. It's not messy.", Landon told her. "Well...maybe it's a little messy."

"How did it go from not being messy when I woke you up to a little messy?", Christian asked.

"Remember when I went upstairs before I sat down for breakfast? I was looking for my notebook but couldn't find it. I moved some things around to look for it. I found it though. It turns out it was in my backpack the whole time. Are you going to clean it Layken?"

"You do it Lan Lan!", she snarled before stomping into the living room. Ana giggled over her cup at her daughter's response.

"Landon, when you get home from school today, clean your room.", Ana told him. "You can either do it before or after you do your homework."

"All right.", he sighed in defeat. "Did Grandma Carla say if she got the get well card we made her?"

"She told me over the phone last night that she got it bright and early yesterday morning. The mailman usually runs late but delivered earlier than usual. She said you and Layken did a wonderful job and that she loves it. I think she might be putting it on the shelf in the living room."

"The one where our photos are?"

"That's the one. By the way, she's feeling better."

"I bet it was the card that helped her."

"You're probably right. Why don't you go and get your things together for school?"

"Okie dokie.", Landon replied, leaving the kitchen to gather his backpack. Christian, having finished feeding and burping Liam, repeated his earlier stare on Ana.

"Why may I ask do you keep staring? Do I have something on my face?"

"Only beauty.", Christian answered smoothly. "You're going to give yourself an ulcer by worrying so much about your mom." Ana glared harshly in disbelief. "That might have came out wrong. Perhaps I should clarify what I meant."

"Perhaps you should because to me it sounded like I shouldn't worry about my mom. She's my flesh and blood. What do you expect me to do?"

"I understand your worrying. It's natural to be concerned about those you love. Heck, I worry about you and the kids all the time, but you've been on edge since finding out about your mom's cold."

"Finding out about her heart problems made it even more clear how fragile life is. We've already lost so much.", Ana murmured.

"Worrying about things that might happen takes away from the good things that are happening.", Christian said as he and Ana both looked down at Liam. "This little guy being an example." Ana sat and allowed Christian's words sink in. She couldn't let her fears get to her.

"You're a very wise man Christian Grey."

* * *

"No. You hang up.", Hannah giggled into the phone, attracting Ana and Sawyer's attention upon their return from an editors' meeting. "I've got an idea. On the count of three, we both hang up."

"Neither of them will hang up.", Sawyer whispered to Ana. He crossed his arms and watched to see if he was wrong.

"One..two..three..." Hannah held the phone as close as possible to her ear, listening for any noise. "You didn't hang up. Again. One...two...three..." Both she and the person on the other end hung the second time around. She placed the receiver back in the cradle as Ana tapped on her desk. "I'm sorry. I should have ended the call minutes ago, but I just couldn't."

"It sounded like Nathan couldn't either."

"How did you know it was Nathan?", Hannah blushed.

"You've got a goofy grin on your face that's a telltale sign of liking someone...a lot.", Ana answered.

"Fine. It was Nathan. He called to make sure we're still on for tonight. We're taking Drew to Chuck E Cheese tonight. I'm very much looking forward to it. Nathan's incredible, and Drew's the sweetest little boy."

"He certainly is a sweet kid. I'm going to go and see how many emails I can get returned by the end of the day. I knew I would have several but no idea it was going to be so many."

* * *

Ana went into her office where she started making headway with her backed up work log. Three hours later, she had made a dent and was ready for her lunch break. She went against her plan of getting take out, instead deciding to go home for lunch. When she called to tell Gail she would be home, Gail offered to have turkey and cheese wraps prepared for Ana and Sawyer.

"They must be in the kitchen.", Sawyer said as they saw Layken's toys in the living room but no Layken. In the kitchen, Gail was putting the finishing touches on lunch while Layken danced to music coming from a small radio placed on the counter. Gail saw Ana and Sawyer immediately, but Layken was too busy with her dancing to notice.

"Layken, look who's here.", Gail motioned to Ana.

"Hey there baby girl."

"Mama, I help and dance."

"I saw you. You're a good helper and even better dancer. I wish I could dance as well as you.", Ana said. "Is Liam upstairs?"

"I just laid him down about fifteen minutes ago. He took all of his bottle and fell asleep almost immediately after. How has you first day back been?" Ana sat down at the table as Gail placed her turkey wrap in front of her. Sawyer grabbed his lunch and settled on one of the bar stools.

"It's been busy but good. Has Layken had lunch?"

"Yeah. Like Liam, she ate all of her lunch. It's been been surprisingly calm with Layken on her best behavior. I think she does most of her acting up when Landon's around.", Gail said.

"Oh I know she does. Layken, do you like teasing your brother?"

"Uh-huh." Ana was about to take her first bite when her phone started ringing from her purse. Before Ana was able to stand, Gail grabbed the bag and handed to her. Goosebumps prickled Ana's arms at seeing Carla's name on the screen.

"Mom, hi."

"Hi sweetheart. I hope I'm not bothering you on your first day back at work."

"Not at all. I left work to have lunch at home. How are you? Are you still feeling ok?"

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry. I'm calling to give you good news actually." Ana took a drink of her water, wondering what Carla's good news entailed. "Your dad and I were going to hold off on telling you a while longer, but holding in the news became so unbearable that he told me I could go ahead and tell you."

"You've got my full attention. What's this news?", Ana asked.

"We've decided to move to Seattle. We've already contacted a realtor to put the house up for sale."

"You're moving to Seattle? Mom, that's wonderful."

"We think so. Portland is always going to have a special place in our hearts. You and Christian still own the old house." Ana and Christian didn't travel to Portland as much as they had before the kids, but when they did, they still stayed in the house Ana grew up in.

"Which you and Dad can stay at any time you want to visit Portland. Mom, not that I'm not thrilled, but what brought on this decision?"

"It's something we've been talking about for a while. We enjoy our time with you, Christian, and the kids, yet we feel we could spend more time with you if we lived in Seattle."

"Now you need to find a house."

"We kind of already found one. It's not fancy, but it's a lovely house. Christian found it for us.", Carla replied.

"Christian? Wait...He knew about your move? He hasn't said a thing.", Ana sighed as Layken climbed up in her lap.

"He was respecting our wishes by not telling you. Please don't be upset with him." Even though Christian had kept Ana in the dark about the move, she understood why he had done so.

"I'm not upset or angry with you. I'm touched that he helped you and Dad."

"Both of us lucked out with our husbands, huh?"

"We sure did Mom. We sure did."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Mom, Dad, this place is nice. I really like it." With Liam in her arms, Ana walked through the living room of Ray and Carla's new home. She had been taken back by the news of her parents' move to Seattle, but the shock had settled into even more excitement. "I love the vaulted ceiling in here."

"That's one of my favorite details of the room, right behind the fireplace.", Carla said. "And the bay window. Who am I kidding? Every thing in this room is my favorite. It already feels like home."

"Grandma, I love your new house!", Landon exclaimed while running into the room followed by Ray and Christian who was holding Layken's hand. "The backyard is my favorite."

"How about after your grandmother and I get things moved in we build a treehouse in the backyard?", Ray asked. "It won't be as fancy as the one you've got at your house, but it'll be nice."

"I'd like that. Can I stay here tonight with you and Grandma?" Although Ray and Carla still had a few pieces of furniture left to move, they had already moved most of their things. "Please, please, please."

"Me tay.", Layken chimed in between Landon's pleading.

"Layken, you can stay another time. I'm going to stay first. So can I Grandma, Grandpa?" Ray raised a brow at Ana and Christian, silently asking their thoughts on the subject.

"It's ok with us as long as your parents agree.", Ray answered.

"Mom, Daddy, can I stay the night? I'll be good." Christian and Ana turned to each other and began whispering as Liam listened into their conversation, unsure of what exactly they were discussing.

"All right, but you need to be good. We'll go home and pack you a bag then bring you back over here.", Christian said. He looked down at Layken who was waiting for his answer to her staying. "Layken, how about you come home with me and Mommy? You can stay another time."

"Me tay Dada.", she pouted. "Me tay."

"She can stay too.", Carla replied. "It won't any trouble." Christian and Ana once again discussed the matter.

"Fine. Layken, be good for your grandparents. Maybe we'll get one of your cartoons and bring back over so you and Landon can watch it."

"I'm too old for her cartoons. She likes those with dancing and singing teddy bears, but I'm into the bigger kid stuff like Scooby Doo and Batman.", Landon told his parents.

"You don't want to watch dancing and singing teddy bears, but you'll watch talking dogs?", a confused Ana asked. "We'll bring one of your Scooby movies over then. Layken likes Scooby Doo."

"Cooby Cooby Dooooo.", Layken giggled.

"Well yesterday before you got home from work she was trying to put our dog Scooby in one of her dresses, but Ms. Gail stopped her. Then Layken went into my bedroom and grabbed my superhero cape and put it on Scooby."

"Your sister is starting to have an imagination and wants to play. A lot of it also has to do with you. She looks up to you."

"Beacause I'm taller than her?" Christian turned his head in laughter at Landon's response.

"That too, but I mean she sees you playing and wants to do the same. It's also one reason why she likes to aggravate you. She's showing her love for you." Landon crinkled his nose and then wrapped his arms around Layken. "Awww."

"I love you Layken."

* * *

"Liam, it's just the three of us tonight.", Christian sighed at a grinning Liam. Ana padded down the stairs after calling to check in with Ray and Carla. "How are things at your parents'?"

"Dad said the kids were eating their dinner. They're going to watch some of their cartoons afterwards although he doesn't think Layken will last long. She's been yawning and rubbing her eyes. They love the house, and so do I. It's nice. You, Mr. Grey, did a wonderful job finding it."

"I saw several others online that were ok but none compared to the one the one they chose. Your dad immediately started talking about ideas for the yard."

"He does enjoy his lawn care.", Ana said. "I want to talk to you about hiring someone to help Gail. We've discussed it a little but keep putting it off. It's not fair for her to have to keep up with the house and watch the kids too. Layken's getting into more things."

"She's curious, I'll give that.", Christian chuckled. "You're right. She does need help. It was difficult enough when she only had two kids to watch with one being in school. Now she has two home during the day. We'll get her some help." Christian looked down at Liam who appeared to be concentrating. Seconds later, the smell of his dirty diaper filled the room. "We have a number two."

"I'll change him."

"I've got it baby." Ana watched her husband climb the stairs to change the baby. She picked up the remote to turn on the tv when Taylor opened the front door. His face was somber. He was in a trance like state as he staggered to one of the chairs.

"Taylor, are you all right?" He stared at the floor for several minutes, only looking up when Christian came back into the room with Liam.

"Hey Taylor. What's with the serious face?", Christian asked.

"I got a call from a friend at the police department. A couple were leaving a movie theater downtown when a guy tried to carjack them. Ryan was on his way out of the same theater and saw the incident. He tried to play hero and stop the guy, but..."

"But what? What happened?"

"Ryan was able to get the couple to safety, but the guy had a gun and shot Ryan in the chest before running away. The police caught up with him down the road when he got hit by a car. The bastard only suffered minor injuries. Ryan, on the other hand wasn't so lucky."

"How bad is his condition?", Ana asked.

"He's gone. They lost him on the way to the hospital." Tears streamed down Ana's face while Christian placed a butterfly kiss on Liam's cheek. "He was always so brave, protecting those in need."

* * *

"I had a lot of fun last night with Grandma and Grandpa.", Landon told Christian and Ana after they returned from picking the kids up. Although Christian and Ana had told Carla and Ray about Ryan, the news hadn't been revealed to Landon who thought of the security team as family.

"I'm glad.", Ana replied. "Your grandparents said you and Layken were well-behaved."

"It's not too cold outside. Can I go out and play for a while? Ryan told me the other day he wanted to show me how he used to throw a football when he played in school. Maybe he can do it today." A gasp escaped Christian at the mention of Ryan. "What's wrong Daddy?"

"Landon, sit down. I have to tell you something." While Landon sat down next to Christian, Ana placed Liam in his swing and then pulled Layken into her lap. "It's about Ryan."

"Is he not working today? He can show me another day."

"He can't Landon. Something happened last night, something terrible. Ryan tried to help some people, but he ended up getting hurt."

"Did he have to get a band-aid?"

"No sweet boy.", Ana answered. "It was too much. He went to heaven."

"He was my friend. I'm going to miss him."

"We all are sweet boy."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy.**

"It was a lovely service.", Ana said through falling tears upon arriving home from Ryan's funeral. Christian, Taylor, Sawyer, and Gail trailed behind her to the front door.

"Ryan would have a fit if he heard all the stories being told on him during his eulogy." Taylor tried to laugh but ended up with tears instead. Gail wrapped her arms around her as Christian opened the door. Inside they found Landon settled on the sofa between Carla and Ray who were watching them while Ana and Christian attended the funeral.

"Hey guys.", Christian waved as the kids jumped from the sofa to hug their parents. "Where you good for your grandparents?"

"Yes.", Landon replied. "Well, I was good for them. Layken grabbed Liam's baby powder and poured it all over the nursery floor." Christian raised a brow at Layken who smiled innocently at him.

"The good news is she only got a little on her. Most of it ended up on the floor, but I cleaned it up.", Ray said. "I also sat her down and told her how we don't act like baby powder is a toy."

"Thanks for watching them.", Ana told her parents. Ray helped Carla to her feet and grabbed the coats from the coat rack. "You're leaving already?"

"Your dad's taking me to dinner to officially celebrate our moving to Seattle. He's been wanting to since we arrived in town, but we've been too busy getting settled. Landon, are you sleeping late tomorrow?" Despite school being out for the week, Landon had gotten up early Monday and Tuesday.

"Probably not. I try to sleep late, but I can't.", he shrugged. "Why?"

"I thought maybe we could take you and your sister to lunch if you'd like."

"Mom, you don't have to do that. You and Dad have already done so much since moving here." Cara bent down and wrapped her arms around Ana's neck.

"We want to take them to lunch. Don't argue with me.", Carla laughed as she embraced Landon.

"If a stop by the toy store happens to take place, we can't help it.", Ray shrugged. He moved past Carla and wrapped his arms around Ana and Landon before doing so with Layken. "Little Miss Layken, from now on, are you going to pour baby powder out?"

"No no no.", Layken answered.

Carla and Ray started to the door, stopping and embracing Christian. They could see the pain he and everyone else was experiencing with the loss of Ryan. Their hearts ached for Ryan's parents having to say goodbye to their son. It was a feeling Carla and Ray still carried with them.

* * *

"Has there been any more news from the hospital?", Taylor asked Christian in regards to Peter Howard, the guy who had shot and killed Ryan during the botched car jacking.

"After being released from the hospital in the morning, he'll be transferred to jai. He's hired Nicole Wilcox to represent him. She's supposedly got a record of getting innocent verdicts in court cases, but I don't see it happening here. There's no doubt Peter Howard shot and killed Ryan. The elderly couple he was defending along with others on their way out of the theater saw the entire thing play out."

"There's no way in hell the bastard is walking away a free man although I wish he were out. I'd like nothing more than to have just a few minutes with the piece of shit. How is it fair he gets to breathe and live when Ryan doesn't?"

"I know what you mean. I'm pretty sure I could use my name to somehow get in that jail and have a little conversation with him. Throwing some punches would probably feel nice, but those punches won't bring Ryan back. What we can do and what Ryan would want us to do is get justice. I intend to make sure Peter Howard's life is hell on earth.", Christian gritted through his teeth.

"Christian, I'm sorry for interrupting.", Ana apologized after opening the study door. "Ryan's parents are in the living room and would like to speak with us."

Christian slowly stood and followed Ana out to the living room where Keith and Jillian Monroe, Ryan's parents where sitting on the sofa. Jillian was clutching a handkerchief while listening to something her husband was saying.

"Mr. Grey.", Keith Monroe said. "We're sorry for showing up here out of the blue."

"It's fine. Again, please call me Christian.", Christian said, sitting down on the love seat across from Ryan's parents.

"We didn't get a chance to speak with you after the funeral.", Jillian murmured. "We were overwhelmed with all the people who came to celebrate Ryan and his life. Your words during the eulogy were perfect." Besides Ryan's father and uncle, Christian had spoken during the service. He had reflected on Ryan's dedication to his job and the bravery he showed day in and day out, especially on the day of his death. "Ryan loved his job."

"I could see that. Ryan was also part of this family. He and our son Landon were buds."

"He came over one day and was laughing about something Landon had said to him before he left. I think they were having a debate over whether Batman or Spiderman was cooler.", Keith grinned. "Landon had finally said it was a tie." HIs voice trailed off into as tears pooled in his eyes. "If he saw me crying now, he'd tell me to stop this nonsense. HIs birthday is next month. We've always celebrated it together."

"A few years ago, his sister Mindy took him out for dinner. His father and I hadn't called or seen him all day so Ryan assumed we had forgotten his birthday. After his dinner, Mindy persuaded him to shake it off and join her at her house for some movies. They got there, opened the door, and were greeted by a room full of people shouting Happy Birthday. Even though we had always celebrated, it was his first surprise party. He kept saying, "You really had me going." I told him there was no way we could've forgotten his birthday. He was our son. We loved him. We do love him."

"I'm sorry for your loss.", Ana whispered. "Ryan not being here doesn't make sense, but he's looking down on you and will alway be with you."

* * *

"You're still awake?", Christian asked Landon during the final check in before going to bed. "You've been in bed for an hour."

"I can't sleep.", Landon muttered.

"What's on your mind kiddo?"

"Why did someone hurt Ryan and take him away?" Christian sat down on the edge of the bed. "He was a good person."

"Landon, I've been asking myself that same question and haven't really come up with an answer except sometimes people do things that don't make sense. It's confusing."

"Ryan was a hero, wasn't he Daddy?", Landon asked.

"He was a real hero who'll be remembered for his bravery."

"He's in heaven with my Daddy Matt and Mommy Sarah." Landon's statement was the first time in a while he had mentioned his birth parents. "I bet they're eating cotton candy and laughing."

"Cotton candy?"

"Yep. They probably use the clouds as chairs there too. No one sad's in heaven. Everyone gets along and is friends. It's a big family."

"You know, I think you're right. How about after I get home tomorrow we do something special for Ryan? Would you like that?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Just wait and see."

* * *

"Want balloon." Layken pointed to the red balloon Christian was holding in his hand.

"Just a second baby girl." Christian's eyes connected with Ana's while she held a tightly wrapped up Liam. Landon stood between Christian and Ana with his own green balloon. Each of the staff stood with the family with their own balloons. Attached to each of the balloons was a note to Ryan telling him how he would be missed. Landon's read:

_**Ryan, **_

_**You were a good friend and superhero. I'm going to miss you.**_

_**Your friend, **_

_**Landon**_

"When I say three, let go of the balloons.", Ana said, trying not to cry. In the corner of her eye, she saw Sawyer shedding tears. Christian handed Layken's balloon to her but kept one hand on the ribbon.

"Keep it in your hand until I say let go.", Christian told Layken as Ana got to three. "Let go." On cue, Layken's balloon along with the others floated away into the late afternoon sky.

"Goodbye Ryan.", Landon sniffled.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Daddy, can Drew and I go to New York with you? He's never been." Christian took a bite of his burger and shook his head. "It'll be ok if we miss school."

"Landon, I wish this trip would've happened last week when you were out for winter break, but since it didn't, you can't go. There will be a time when you and Drew can go with me, just not this time."

"Fine.", Landon mumbled. "How long are you going to be gone?"

"Probably two days. When I get back, your mom and I are going to look over some applications for a new housekeeper." Landon's book fell from his hands and on to the living room floor.

"Ms. Gail is leaving us? Why would she leave us?" Christian quickly realized he needed to clarify himself. He got to his feet and settled next to Landon who was on the verge of tears.

"Ms. Gail isn't going anywhere. She's going to stay here and focus more on helping to take care of you, Layken, and Liam. Your mom and I thought it would be easier on her. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"It's ok. You and Mom are right though. Ms. Gail does a lot around here and has her hands full with us especially Layken. She's getting close to the terrible twos."

"How do you know about the terrible twos?", an amused Christian asked at the same moment Layken eased down the stairs with Ana and Liam. Layken tottered to the sofa and made room for herself between Christian and Landon.

"Cassie in my class has a little brother who is always getting into stuff. The other day he spilled some dish soap on the floor. Their dad almost slipped and fell on it. He told Cassie her was in the terrible twos." Christian glanced at Layken who was listening intently.

"Don't get any ideas Layken."

"Mom, Daddy told me you're going to get a new housekeeper, but Ms. Gail isn't going anywhere which is a good thing because I love Ms. Gail."

"We love her too.", Ana replied. "Which is why we're hiring a new housekeeper. We want to help Ms. Gail out."

"Play Lan Lan?", Layken asked her brother.

"Ok, but we're going to play with my robots. Be careful with them because if you break one, I'll be upset. Let's go." The two hopped on to the floor and started to the stairs.

"You've got an hour to play before bed. When that hour is up, you need to put the toys away and get your pajamas. Deal?"

"Deal.", Landon answered. "Layken?"

"Deal."

Once Ana had taken the seat Layken had vacated, Christian placed an around her and kissed Liam's forehead. His lips then made their way to Ana's neck, tickling her with their touch. Liam stretched his tiny arms which halted Christian's kisses.

"Sorry Liam.", Christian laughed. "I've got some news that I didn't want to reveal earlier in front of Landon. My dad was told by the DA today that Nicole Wilcox, Peter Howard's lawyer, is going to ask for a competency hearing. She's claiming he wasn't in his right mind when he killed Ryan."

"Seriously? How can she make such a claim? The guy is evil."

"Supposedly he was fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend in the span of two hours. She's suggesting he wasn't thinking clearly and making rational decisions."

"The woman is grasping at straws, trying to find anything she can to get him out of jail. You said she has a record of innocent verdicts."

"She's only had one guilty verdict in her career. With that being said, she better get ready for her second guilty verdict. Peter Howard is guilty, pure and simple."

* * *

"Are you all right?", Ana asked Hannah the next morning.

"I'm fine. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night.", Hannah muttered in response. Ana pulled a chair to Hannah's desk and propped her face on top of her elbows.

"Could Nathan have something to do with your lack of sleep?"

"Kind of but not in the way you're thinking." Ana became even more curious by Hannah's answer. "He wasn't feeling well last night, and since his mom was going to be out town until the early morning, he needed some help. Of course, being the stubborn man he is, he tried to say that he didn't, but I knew better. After making dinner for him and Drew, I helped Drew with his homework. I then did some laundry and cleaned a little. It was about midnight when I got home."

"I'm sure he was appreciative of you helping."

"He was. I'm tired today, but I would do all over again if I had to. Spending time with not only Nathan but Drew makes me happy.", Hannah said while twirling her pen in her hand. "You believe in fate, don't you?"

"Very much. How about you?", Ana asked.

"I used to not believe it. Now though...I'm changing my mind. True Nathan and I knew each other years ago in high school, but I honestly believe fate was holding off until now to bring us together. We each had to go through separate things before finding each other again. He might possibly be the one."

"You've met his mom, but has he met your parents yet?" Hannah often spoke of the high standards her parents had for potential suitors. They got along with her last boyfriend but weren't his biggest fan.

"They did.", Hannah murmured. "All of us went to dinner on Sunday night. Interesting enough, they remembered Nathan from high school but were insistent on getting to know him better. My dad gave Nathan the, "You better treat my daughter with respect and not hurt her" speech."

"And how did Nathan deal with that?"

"He understood where my dad was coming from. The two of them spent the evening discussing sports which went completely over my head. My mom really took up with Drew. She was kind of leery about me getting involved with someone who has a child, but once she started getting to know Nathan and Drew, she saw that our relationship is a wonderful thing. Did Christian get off to New York ok?"

"Yeah. They've gone through some personal changes at the New York office, and he wants to make sure everything is in good shape. It should be a two-day trip maximum."

* * *

"We're on track with all of our current projects.", Edward Hunt, the new VP of the New York office, told Christian during their lunch at Tavern on the Green. "We're hoping to get them completed before taking on anything new."

"I think you've got the right frame of mind with that decision. The last thing we need is to take on more than we can handle when what we have isn't done." Christian took a drink of his water as the waitress, a young, blonde sauntered her way to the table.

"Can I get you gentlemen any thing else?", she asked, placing all of her attention on Christian.

"No. I believe we're finished here. I'll take the check." The woman licked her lips and began writing on her notepad. She flashed one more smile at Christian before handing him the bill. "Thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine." She turned on her heels and went back to the front of the restaurant as Edward shook his head.

"She definitely has a thing for you.", Edward muttered.

"Well, she's wasting her time. I'm a happily married man."

"I've got a meeting in Manhattan in an hour, but I'll see you back at the office when I'm done." Christian and Edward stood from the table and gathered their things. "How much is the bill sir?"

"I've got it.", Christian replied.

"Thank you. I'll see you later." Edward waved goodbye at Christian and Taylor who had been seated at a nearby table. After he was gone, Christian reached looked at the bill and noticed the waitress' name, Brooke, along with a phone number. Able to see the name and number, Taylor laughed.

"Does the ring not mean anything to her?", Taylor asked.

"I guess not. I'm going to the restroom, and then I'll pay the bill." Christian moved past Taylor and headed to the men's room. Once he was finished, he washed his hands and stepped into the small hallway outside the restroom. Leaning against the wall with a smirk was the waitress.

"Did you memorize my number? I know you saw it.", she purred.

"Yes I did see it, and no I didn't memorize it. I'm not sure what was going through your head while writing down your number." She pushed herelf off the wall and inched closer to Christian.

"I thought you and I could have a good time. You seem like a man who knows what a woman wants and how to give it to her. I happen to be a woman who knows exactly how to take care of a man."

"My wife takes care of me just fine.", Christian snarled back while holding up his left hand.

"A ring doesn't mean anything. It's actually a turn on. I like the thought of doing something naughty. Don't you?"

"Only when it comes to my wife. I really hope you didn't need this job because I'm going to personally make sure you're fired."

"You can't do that.", she snapped back.

"Oh I can and I will." Christian stomped away, leaving her seething behind. At the front, he spotted the man who had introduced himself as the manager when they first arrived. "I need to speak with you about our waitress Brooke. She took forever getting our order out, and then she wrote her number on the bill. The final straw was her throwing herself at me a minute ago."

"I'm sorry Mr. Grey. I wish I could say this is the first time something like this has happened with her, but it's not."

"And you still have her on as staff? I'm not sure this is the kind of establishment I'd like to dine in."

"I felt bad for her and didn't have the heart to let her go. Things have changed however. You can take my word that I'm going to fire her as soon as possible. I don't want her behavior to be a reflection on the restaurant. Please accept my apologies."

* * *

"Another work day is almost in the books.", Hannah laughed as she took the work Ana had just finished. "I'll file these before leaving."

"Thanks. Are you seeing Nathan tonight?"

"We're going to grill some burgers. What are you the kids going to do?"

"We're going to have chicken nuggets and watch some tv." Ana's phone began ringing from the top of her desk. "I bet that's Christian."

"I'll let you get that while I go and file these." Hannah waved the files and closed the door behind her while Ana answered the phone.

"Hi Mr. Grey. How's New York?"

"The office is in good shape. I'm pleased with the new hires.", Christian muttered. "Other than that, the trip has been a total crap fest. The culmination was lunch at Tavern on the Green."

"Was the food not good?"

"The food was ok. It was the waitress who I had an issue with. She wrote her number on the bill and then pretty much threw herself at me when I was leaving the restroom."

"What a skank!", Ana shouted. Her outburst sent Hannah running into the office. "I'm fine." Hannah remained in the room a few more seconds before leaving. "Do I need to find someone to watch the kids so I can fly to New York and teach the slut a lesson?"

"I handled it by informing her I'm happily married and only have eyes for my wife."

"She'd better be glad I wasn't there. I would have clawed her eyes out."

"Needless to say, I told the manager who's going to fire her. The entire thing pissed me off. Tell me something good, anything."

"Mia called earlier and said she was going to drop by the house to see Layken and Liam for a few minutes. When I called Gail at lunch, she put Layken on the phone. It seems you're not the only one who can't keep a secret. Layken said, "Me a baby."

"She's a baby?", Christian said.

"I thought that's what she was saying. It turns out that she was saying, "Mia baby." I decided to call Mia and ask if she knew what Layken was saying. It turns out when Mia was holding Layken she told her she was going to have a baby."

"Mia's having a baby?" Ana could hear the joy in Christian's voice. "I thought they were going to hold off for a while."

"They were, but things changed."

"And Layken's the one who spilled the beans.", Christian chuckled.

"She learned from the best."


End file.
